Ark: Dynasty
by Nateman364
Summary: A family that stays together, survives together. That's what these connected families will have to learn if they are to survive on this Mega Ark. They have to work together, combining their different skill sets to make a better living and to figure out how to get back home, if that's possible. Rated T at the moment. Can/will most likely go M.
1. Washed Up

**So I had an idea. What if there was a large group of people that were to arrive on the Ark and how they were all related. Also, what if there more species in the Ark? What if, instead of travelling to the different Arks like you would in normal gameplay, you could just fly or sail there? Well that's where this story came from. My last story was going to lead to something similar, but I think this one will be better. I feel like it's got more potential than just chronicling one survivor. There are going to be some elements from the game, but in an experimental way. For example, the player system involving leveling up, engrams, and whatnot will be there, but not everyone will have access to the engram system. Only a few. Plus, the engram system will be overhauled and branched out more. It's stuff like that, is what I'm implementing here. I hope y'all enjoy it.**

**UPDATE: I have moved this from my 364****th**** Legion Profile to better keep an eye on it and update it. I'm more comfortable with this profile. Plus, I've rewrote some of this chapter. I've also implemented features from ATLAS, a game with similar game mechanics and basically ARK but with pirates and ships. ATLAS was made by a sister company, So this is kind of a crossover I guess. There's not even an ATLAS fanfiction category on here. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ark. All characters are OC and based on a family and friends I'm close with. I do not own any Mods that are featured in this story. They are all found on Steam. I will always post the Mods later. In this chapter however, the only mods are maps. Just look them up.**

….

**Ark: Dynasty**

**...**

**Chapter 1: Washed Up**

Unknown –

He watched from above at the massive structure below him. It was almost planet sized and was destined to land on a planet sooner or later. Ever since the Ark grid landed on Earth, the overseer of this Ark has been documenting those that have landed and has been replicating them down to the last grain of dirt and smallest creature from the Island that he first washed up on. He remembered him and other survivors trying to figure out what the Ark was and how they got there. They discovered that there were animals from prehistoric to fantasy and multiple Ark Stations. They found the journal pages of previous inhabitants and ruins of past civilizations. They had fought the guardians and overseers of each station and even landed on Earth. There wasn't much to Earth except that it had been taken over by the Element and ruled by Titans. But they rebuilt civilization and destroyed the king titan while taming the three local titans there. Then, the Ark grid had landed on Earth which began to reseed it and cure it of its element. Unfortunately, there was one place the Element wasn't erradicated It was the general area of the broken down station where the horrifying monstrosity called Rockwell. After that, everyone kind of mellowed out and met new tribes from other Arks. Of course, there were a few conflicts, but with Earth now habitable again, and new life began, conflict didn't last long. Well, that was how he left it. He ended up finding more information about a new Ark, the one he was currently on. It didn't operate like the rest of the Arks. The Ark had Guardians, but the guardians had offspring which were able to be domesticated. Before the Ark grid returned to Earth, humans weren't able to breed. Now they can. It was stuff like that.

He guessed it was my fault that this next batch of humans would wash up. His memory was so potent that when he actually submitted himself to this Mega-Ark for screening, it brought new life, both human and bestiary. If there was one thing he learned, it was that every ARK and Genesis simulation hosted its own survival challenges, rewards, unique species, weather patterns, and geography. I had been to most of these ARK's and each had their own designation such as The Island, Scorched Earth, the malfunctioning station now called Aberration or Aberrant Depths, the Center, Ragnarök, or Valguero. Some ARK stations were bigger than others and had their own flora and fauna such as the Archipelago ARK known as the Atlas. It was probably the biggest ARK outside of the Mega-Ark.

There was a major motion next to him. He looked over to see a hologram of DNA which then transformed into humans both male and female. He recognized them. The hologram quickly began cycling through them. It had only done this once before. It was around a year ago when the original inhabitants were washed up, me included. The only problem was, they all ended up on the island and then they all vacated as soon as possible, save a few tribes. This man was part of one that was spread pretty thin. In all actuality, he was the only one in the Control room of the Mega-Ark and the only one to be able to access it whenever he wanted. He walked over to a console where even more humans were being created in hologram form. The only thing was, nearly all of them were nearly identical. "Hmm." He said, "This could get real interesting."

He walked back over to look out over the Mega Ark below. He put his hand on a diamond shaped panel. He could quickly translate what was in front of him.

_Station #: M01-1_

_Specimen batch ID: 438484 confirmed_

_Specimen type: Homosapien g10.0_

_Confirmed Specimen count: 100,345_

_Spawning Specimen count: 643 (489/154)_

He pressed down on the console and everything started to fade white at a slow pace, signifying its activation. He walked over to a circular pad that was built into the area before pressing another console. He immediately disappeared in a blue flash as the control room became blindingly white.

…

Nate Warren –

_Myrtle Beach, South Carolina_

There was something that people from half a mile away could hear or see if they were passing from a nearby bridge. It was the hustle and bustle of a gathering of around five hundred people, give or take a few in number. These people ranged from toddlers to elders and were all connected to each other one way or another, whether it'd be family or friends. This was a typical annual event, something this group had gathered on one of the many family's farmland or in the river and every year there were more and more people. The river they had infested this year was the Intercoastal Waterway in Horry County of South Carolina. There were the Perry's, the Lilly's, the Owens, the Wright's, the Stroud's, the Small's, the Karnes', the Holmes', the Tarte's, the Hardee's, the Bellamy's, the Brocks, and the Warrens. There were other family names but they didn't match up to the size of the ten families or weren't somehow connected as family. The kicker? This many people gathering in one spot made it look like a fleet of boats were on this river, all of them anchored along the river banks. Music was blaring from some of the inbuilt radios of the boats, mostly playing country music and party music.

That's what was going on down there at least. Above them, in a large leaning water oak tree hanging over the bank, was a twenty-five-year-old man sitting in a tree alone, watching all of them. Most of the crowd knew him or knew of him. He wasn't one for crowds and wasn't much of a people person in said crowds. What he lacked in people skills were made up with being good with animals and his knowledge of wildlife. Like a lot of his family, he was an excellent outdoorsman. He didn't mind hanging out with family, it was just draining going to social events like this one, but he couldn't tell you why. It was one of those things that just was. He did enjoy seeing his family and extended family happy though. As he lazily swung his hanging leg back and forward, he couldn't help but smile at the antics of everyone down there. He was more of an observer when it came to stuff like this. He liked seeing people have fun, but he was also the type to jump in when someone was threatened. Everyone called him a bodyguard for it. There had been numerous moments when someone had gotten in a fight with a friend or family member and he had been there to back them up. He didn't seek violence, but he was a dangerous asset when it came to one. Something that really made him lose his temper was a man putting his hands on a woman. He had beaten a man to a bloody pulp when he witnessed him slapping one of his cousins friends. It took three or four of the men in his family to get him off of the guy who made the mistake of hitting a woman.

The sentry sighed lazily as he scanned over everyone. He couldn't see them all. There were too many people and boats, not enough river. There was a path along the middle so passing boaters could get through. He watched the older folk gossip on their pontoon boats and kids playing on water mats or in the river with others. Younger men and women were in groups, some of them dancing. He caught himself staring at some of the women he wasn't related to. He looked away as memories started to swell of a time when he was once in a relationship with a girl. Long story short, it didn't work out and left him heartbroken and destroyed. But that was probably the hundredth time he had caught himself staring. He was so enveloped in his thoughts that he didn't see some of the group walk up to the base of his tree.

It was a couple who failed to notice him, who was one of his cousin's named Brandon and a guest who was friends with another cousin. Both of the girls were named Kayla. Brandon had normal features of a Warren. A man in the warren family were usually larger folks as far as height and muscle went with broad shoulders. He had dark hair and a strong jawline. That alone was enough to attract the pretty blonde headed Kayla. The trouble was, Brandon was a Warren. And like a lot of Warren men, he got in trouble with women. The Sentry above them, knew what was about to go down when he heard their flirty tones and the blonde's giggles. When they started making out and he pressed her against the tree with nothing but her bikini and his swimming trunks between them, the sentry leaned his head back hitting the bark of the tree with a slight groan.

_You've got to be kidding me,_ he thought to himself in slight amusement. He looked back down and saw that Brandon was about to remove one of her strings to her bikini. "Well this is awkward." He voiced his opinion. The couple stopped their antics looking around doe eyed as if two kids caught doing what they weren't supposed to be doing. The Sentry laughed at them, their heads both snapping up.

"Damn y'all," The sentry said, "If you're gonna play cowboy's and Indians you might wanna make sure no one's around first. Might see something they don't wanna. Or do, if you're a peepin' tom."

"Nate!?" Brandon said, "What the hell are you doin' up there?"

"Enjoying the scenery," The sentry said with a grin.

"Well go on somewhere."

"I was here first," Nate replied, "Get your own tree." The two laughed at him.

"Why aren't you down in the river with everyone else?" Kayla asked.

"Nate doesn't like crowds," Brandon answered.

"What he said," Nate spoke.

"Well can you help us out here or…." Kayla said.

"No, no." Nate said lightly as he swung his other leg over to rest his elbows on his lap, "You kids have fun. I was just announcing my presence." This was usual Warren banter. Everything was a joke when it came to perverted tendencies. Nate wasn't as bad as his brethren, usually preferring to keep such content to a respectable level, but there were times where he could give people a run for their money.

"You might see something you don't want to." Brandon said, "Why don't you go find you a girl yourself cuz." Nate's expression changed at the thought. Find himself a woman? After what happened last time he got involved? He was on the fence about that.

Nate shrugged, not saying anything. "Fine," He said swinging down like a monkey to a lower branch then jumping off and landing next to them. "You kids have fun." He started walking down to the river. He turned around walking backwards and pointed at them like a "cool" person would. "And if y'all end up with a baby this is going to be a hilarious story for my new cousin."

"NATE!" They both half-yelled, half laughed.

He left them there, going through the brush and joining the countless people here. Some of them looked at him for a split second and each acknowledged his presence. He did the same, not knowing some of their names. His anxiety was slowly creeping on him as he waded through the water around party-goers. He knew it was stupid but he always felt people were judging him or something. It was real work to purposely make facial expressions instead of the blank stare he was prone to as he walked through groups of people. To someone who wasn't him, it seemed he was just a normal person with no worries. False. He was internally kicking himself for every social decision he made and it was exhausting. As he passed an open area of water where a volleyball net was put with a couple cousins and their friends, one of his cousin's got his attention.

It was Trey Lilly. A man one year younger than him with a slender build. "Hey Nate!" He said, "We need another for a game. Wanna play?"

Nate's eyes scanned the group. Some of them were women he had never seen before, all of them drop dead gorgeous. That would be a fact still, if they did have clothes on instead of bikini's. The thought of playing Volley ball with a bunch of pretty girls made his heart jump to his throat. He regretted his answer immediately. "Nah," He said, "I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat real quick. Ain't ate since last night."

"Alright man," Trey replied.

Nate kept walking. Where was he really going anyways? He was just walking aimlessly, systematically avoiding people. Along the way he questioned himself internally. _Why did i come here? Was it because of tradition? Should I leave? Would anyone notice? Do they care? Ughhh._

It was a struggle for someone like him with these thoughts. He was socially awkward and had social anxiety. It was all due to being raised on a farm with hardly any interaction with people save for school. Maybe that was it.

He was about to go around a bend when he heard his name again. There was a slight mixture of agitation and comfort.

"Nate?" I turned to see a group of women. But the one that said my name, was a beautiful woman three years younger than I. She had deep blue eyes and dark hair with a slight curl with a slender figure for a woman. It was Brennan Perry. _Holy shit_, he thought heart racing. He remembered their last encounter. It was at the local music country music festival. She was cousin's with a second cousin's husband. She was stunning. He went to the festival with one of his cousins and he bought her a mixed drink after she gave him hers, which surprised everyone. Nate, being clueless didn't pick up on the fact that she was interested in him from that point on. It didn't help that he had a stomach virus at the time so he wasn't exactly at one hundred percent. There was a lingering thought for him. _Don't fuck this up._

"Yes ma'am?" Nate said, his southern charm coming on strong. _I'm an idiot. _He had a reputation for being polite and had a cowboy-like charm. But he was too dumb to know when to not take it too far. His grandmother once said he could talk the clothes right off a girl if he wanted to. He didn't believe so though. The man was clueless these days when it came to women.

Brennan seemed at a loss for words for a second. It was like talking to him was next to impossible for some reason. Something about him made her mind turn to mush and heart race. She felt like a high school girl with a crush. It seemed her friends picked up on it. They saved her.

"So this is Nate."

_Ah fuck. _Nate thought to himself out of reaction. What had been said about him? But wait. _Wasn't this the friend who….wasn't she there for all of that stuff? Crap. What was her name? Meghan or something? What game is she playing at?_ Then Nate remembered. She was the one who was drunk and vocal about the whole thing.

"_Well it wouldn't be incest if you two got together." _That was her line in a pizza place on the Boulevard of Myrtle beach 2:00 in the morning. Nate had been replaying that night in his mind with regret. His reaction was looking at her with a deadpan look and thinking, _did she really just say that? What the hell. No filter whatsoever. _

"Nate was hanging out with everyone at the country music festival," Meghan said, "He's cool. Quiet, but cool."

"Pleasure to meet y'all," Nate answered with a nod, eyes glancing over the group of girls. They were pretty in their own right.

"Hi."

"Hey."

They seemed friendly enough. "Come on girls let's go get a drink," Meghan spoke up. The three girls left Brennan there with Nate. Alone. At that point, Nate's mind was a puddle of mud. People were not his thing, especially if he was attracted to them. "You were saying?" He asked her. _Man I'm dumb._

Brennan being at a loss for words said, "H-how have you been? I haven't heard anything out of you."

Nate took a second to respond, carefully deciding his words. "Working mostly," He replied after inhaling some air and confidence, "Twelve hour shifts Monday through Friday. Other than that I've been great." _Ask her._ "How about you?"

"Great!" She sad face lighting up, "Been taking trips with my parents, but I think I'm going to stick around for a while. Save up some money." _Ask her_.

Nate saw a window of opportunity, something he wasn't going to pass up again. _Get her talking. Find out more. Ask her. _"Hm," He said in acknowledgment, "What is it that you do for a livin'?"

"I work as an event planner," She said playing with her hair.

"Like as in weddings or party's?" Nate asked.

"Yeah," She said, "Sometimes its tiring, but I don't mind it."

"Sounds cool." Nate said. He immediately just asked a question to try and keep awkwardness down. "Last time we talked, you said something about you ride horses a lot?" _Ask her dumbass. _

Her eyes lit up, which Nate immediately took that as a good sign. "Yeah," She said, "I love horses. I ride them all the time and occasionally enter competitions for the stables I go to. But I love taking a horse ride on the beach or to the mountains. Have you ever ridden one?" The two made their way to the bank to go sit on a fallen log.

"I used to," Nate replied, "When I lived on our family farm, and I was around ten or eleven. But the two horses got too old to ride. So we retired them to happy lives of eatin' hay and vegi's from the garden. They were rescue horses to boot so they deserved it." Brennan listened intently. His voice was so enticing. It was smooth, deep, and just the right amount of southern drawl. "We used to let them wander around with us outside their paddock, but they'd never go in the garden. But I'd love to go riding again. It's been too long."

Brennan took a chance with him. She saw her window of opportunity. "You should tag along next time then," She blurted out.

It took Nate off guard for a moment, but he relaxed his shoulders and replied, "I'd like that." Nate was good at observation. He might have been clueless when it came to women, but he picked up on subtle changes in people and their body language. She was relaxed, and her eyes showed relief. _You really are an idiot. Ask. Her. _And just like that, taking a leap of faith, he did. "I think we should go out sometime."

The surprise in her eyes said everything. She smiled. "I think we should too." It was Nate's turn to be relieved. He had never been happier.

It was supposed to mark a new chapter in his life. Things could only go up from here, right? He and Brennan would go on a few dates, hopefully get married, have kids, and grow old together. Right? Everything was perfect, except for how bright it was getting. No one noticed until it was too late. Even then, there wasn't anything anyone could do. The radio's went silent and everyone noticed the intensity of the sunlight.

Nate looked around at everyone and everything. The wind stopped blowing, the water stopped flowing, and the eeriness of the rest of nature being halted sank in. Something was happening. The only sounds were of our family and people. It was turning from questioning to panic.

"What's happening?"

"Man that sun's bright."

"Momma what's happening?"

"I'm scared!"

"Nate?" Brennan said, "What is this?"

"I don't know." He replied looking back at her, "I've never…" In that moment, Nate knew something was terribly wrong. He didn't know how. But he knew. The sun was getting brighter almost making everything a white hue. But then something did happen. The earth started to tremble and gravity decided to take a vacation. First went the boats. They started to float upwards. There were screams. So many screams of terror. Nate did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He embraced Brennan, wrapping her in his arms.

"I'm scared," She whimpered holding him back.

"I know," Nate responded, "Me too. Listen. Before anything…." The two of them began to feel their bodies lift up in the air causing a yelp from Brennan. "I have feelings…." It was like something was pulling the two embraced people apart, like they weren't supposed to be together like they were. "…for you. I want….a future with you." It was so hard for them to breathe as whatever was taking them was stopping communication.

"Me too." She replied. The two tried to kiss but they were ripped from each other's arms as they were well over the tree line and suddenly flung towards the sun. Everything went white.

…..

_Station #: M01-1_

_Specimen batch ID: 438484 confirmed_

_Specimen type: Homosapien g10.0_

_Confirmed Specimen count: 100,345_

_Spawning Specimen count: 643 (489/154)_

_Confirmed Species count: 500 (excluding subspecies)_

_Confirmed Superfauna Species count: 12_

_Confirmed Guardian Count: 5_

_Experiment: #100138485_

_Parameters: Enabled Homosapien Implant system 2.0, Enable Beacon system 2.0, Enable Ark Science Systems 5.9. Enable station Creature species system 5.0._

_Activate Mega-Ark Station – Current Attached Arks: Island #AMI1, Scorched Earth #AMS1, Center #AMC1, Aberrant Depths #AMA1, Ragnarök #AMR1, Valguero #AMV1, Archipelago #AMA2, Crystal Isles #AMC2, Valhalla #AMV2, Volcano #AMV3, Shigo Islands #AMS2, Thieves Island #AMT1, Chasm #AMC3, Antarktica #AMA2, Ark Stations under construction: 10+ stations._

…..

"_I want….a future with you." _

"_Me too."_

_Nate kissed her and she kissed him back. They were on a farm surrounded by horses and other animals. The only thing that mattered was those two in that moment. They could hear wedding bells, see a future with each other. The sounds of waves could be heard. That didn't make sense. They were in the countryside. The ocean was miles away. But he heard seagulls, or what sounded like seagulls. He looked around._

"_Brennan do you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?" She sounded so far away._

_He turned to look at her. She was gone. "Brennan?" He asked, "Where are you?"_

"_Come find me." Brennan replied. "We need each other….."_

"_Brennan!" Nate yelled._

…..

He laid there, eyes closed and front part of his body against the damp sand. Was it a dream? Had he just blacked out? Cool water lapped against him from his feet. When he opened his eyes, it took them a moment to adjust to his surroundings. Bright light shining against his closed eyes made everything look like it was grayed out. Eventually the color returned as he got up on his hands and knees looking around. But something on his left forearm started to itch. He look at his wrist, instinctively scratching at the offending sensation. The only problem was, where there was supposed to be veins popping out showing the strength he had in his arms, was accompanied by something else. It was some implant that looked like a high-tech diamond. It was not supposed to be there.

He looked around noting every bit of his surroundings. Everything looked tropical and different from anything he had witnessed in books or real life. The palm trees, jungle in the distance, large boulders, and strange brush let him know one thing. He was nowhere in South Carolina, let alone America. There was a slight breeze blowing.

"Where the fuck am I?" He asked out loud. He spun around looking in every direction like some kind of madman. There was no other landmass out there. Just ocean. It took him a moment to remember that he was two miles _away_ from the ocean before he woke up. He was in a river with several family members, their guests, and a beautiful woman he was about to start a relationship with. Now he was in a foreign land. The thought of her actually got to him. Where was she? Where was his family? How the crap did he end up on a beach? These were questions that were going through his mind. But what really set him off was the presence of another lifeform. A presence that caused his face to involuntarily make a highly confused expression.

"Is that a fuckin' dodo?" There was a plump bird with a large beak and stubby wings pecking at something in the sand. It had beady eyes and large feet like an overgrown pigeon's. The plumage on the dodo was a mixture of slate gray and some kind of blue. Its beak was dull yellow with a pink tip. "It's a dodo."

He watched the dodo for a moment before looking around some more, aimlessly wandering down the beach. His mind was fresh with shock. Would he see her again? Would he see his family again? Where did all these dodo's come from? He stopped, noting that the beach was full of dodos. A lot of them. They were all wandering around, pecking at whatever they were eating. It wasn't until he saw movement in the brush, that he was worried.

There was some kind of creature there. At first, he thought it was an iguana. But an iguana doesn't walk on two legs have double crests, two small arms with claws on them, a frill, and razor sharp teeth. This creature was not any modern lizard. It was a _dinosaur_. The flock of Dodo's froze, like chickens do when they see something in their coop. That was the closest thing he could compare their behavior to. They hadn't seen the dinosaur yet, but all of a sudden, a "Fwuupp" sound followed by some kind of black goo came from the dinosaur as it raised its frill up. The goo hit one of the dodo's in the head, causing a massive amount of panic. They all scattered except for the one dodo who couldn't see but was flailing about trying to move. That was when the little dinosaur rushed out the brush and pounced on the dodo with its teeth and claws. The bird didn't stand a chance as the carnivore ripped into it. That was enough for Nate. He didn't want the little dinosaur to attack him too. As much as Nate was slightly scared of the carnivore, he was intrigued.

He had always been interested in wildlife. He studied zoology, botany, Paleontology, and environmental sciences as one of his hobbies as well as profession. Another hobby was being a survivalist. He was skilled in Bushcraft, Hunting, Agriculture, and many different engineering trades. He had worked with animals in a zoo as a keeper, trainer, and was pretty good in enclosure maintenance. He realized this was a Dilophosaurus. But the problem was that it wasn't nearly the size that he had Nate gave the little carnivore a wide birth to get around it and its meal. The Dilophosaurus growled at him, as if it thought Nate was trying to figure a way out to steal his meal. That couldn't be further from the truth, as Nate moved down the beach. Just in case he came across one of those Dilophosaurus', he picked up the largest stone he could find. He wandered up the beach further looking for signs of civilization, even if the odds were slim to none.

As he walked, Nate tried to figure out exactly where he was. A basic survival skill and a general rule while one was out in the wilderness was to _not_ get anymore lost than you already were. A sense of direction was pretty important, especially if one was in a land full of dinosaurs. He sighed looking around. The only thing he noticed about the land was a small island off to his right as he walked up the beach. He also noticed behind him was a large tower that had a glowing green diamond crest near the top. He only saw it because there was a mountain in his way. To his left were more mountains, and atop a snowy mountain was another tower with a blue diamond. He felt like he was going further North. He didn't know how, but he was. He found himself in a field as he passed the jungle along the coast and at the northern most point was a slope that seemed to drop completely off when the land ran out. The area was quaint. There were a few shrubs, trees, and boulders spread out dotting the land. But then there was something else. More dinosaurs.

They were bipedal with similar body structures, but vastly different heads. Some of their crests arced out like a crescent with webbing, others had large round-shaped crests, while some had sharper rounded shaped crests. He knew what those dinosaurs were. They were Hadrosaurs. Parasaurolophus, Corythosaurus, and Lambeosaurus. They were Herbivores, and often traveled in herds. What Nate didn't know, was how or why they were in such a distinct herd. He had never known of any bones that intermingled with each other like this. Maybe it was a new behavior? Then again, there were bones, so new was probably not the best way to think about it. He watched them though, each with different colored skins and crests. Some of the herd looked at him curiously while others didn't pay him any attention.

He walked towards them as they grazed the grass, and some ate from the bushes. One of the younger Parasaurolophus' walked up to him. Each of the fully-grown animals stood much taller then him, his head coming just below their shoulders if they stood on their hind legs. The younger one that walked up to him innocently was only waist high. Nate held out his hand like he was going to pet it. Its breath was warm as it huffed at him. The Hadrosaur allowed him to touch it. Nate had ran his hand on a crocodile's head before, but this was much smoother. It bleated before getting closer to him. Nate couldn't help but grin. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all. He ran his hand down the side of the Hadrosaur stroking it like he would if he was petting a dog. He sighed. He could stay here forever. But there was a rumble in his stomach that disagreed. He needed sustenance. He watched as a nearby Corythosaurus stripped purple berries from one of the bushes. He observed it for a second. It didn't really discriminate from the berries except for the black and white ones. In fact, if the shrubs had black or white berries on them, the dinosaurs avoided them altogether, except for the Lambeosaurus. That was generally a good sign. He tasted one of the other colors. The Hadrosaurs ate three distinctive colored berries. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Purple. He tasted them separately, noting the different flavors. The red berries tasted almost like a mixture of cherry and strawberry. The Blue ones tasted like blueberries and kiwi. The Yellow Ones were like the berry form of banana and coconut. The purple berries easily tasted like concord grape and blackberries put together. Then there were the other two kinds of berries. One of them was bitter, like a cucumber that had been sitting out too long. That was the white berries. It dried his mouth out but it gave him a bit more vigor in his step. The other one however tasted plain, like avocado. It was the black colored berry. That one made him drowsy and his mouth and tongue numb. He made a note to himself to stay away from both the black and white colored berries. They were like an energy drink for the white and a morphine tranquilizer for the black.

He made his way through the docile herd picking through bushes, sometimes sharing a bush with one of the large Hadrosaurs. It was like he was part of the herd. He ate as he went, being careful to avoid the berries that weren't fit for consumption. Nate felt fully immersed within the herd. It almost made him forget what his original goal was. He kept wandering through the herd, before he came upon the top of the cliff that faced the north shore. He sat down and leaned against the lone tree singing a tune.

"_Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenanadoah River, life is old there, older than the trees, Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze, Country roads, take me home to the place where I belong, West Virginia, mountain mamma, Take me home country roads."_

Maybe he could just rest his eyes a little. After that, he'd try to find his family and….her.

….

Eric Perry-

_Island - South East coast_

The last thing he remembered before getting here was that his family and friends were all pulled up into the sky by some kind of light. Now he was waking up on shore with several other members of his family. Along the shore were countless people, all in bathing suits or whatever they were wearing before they were sucked into the sky. He looked around at all the other washup's. He recognized the majority of them. Everyone was panicking. He watched as everyone started helping others up and looking around. Confusion was the second thing that started to rile everyone up. How was it possible to be on a random beach when they were all in a river?

There were so many people. He saw his mother (Jenny) and his father (Donald) talking with each other.

"Eric!" His mom said running to hug him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Eric replied, "Have you seen Kayla or the kids?"

"No," His mother replied, "Oh my god. I hope they're….."

"Eric!" Everyone turned around to see his wife running up to them with a baby boy in her arms. He ran to hug her. "I'm glad you're okay. Where's Lillian?" She had dark hair, brown eyes, and was short.

"I don't know," His wife said panicking, "All I remember is being sucked up into the sky. And Cooper screaming next to me. What's happening? Where's our little girl?"

"I don't know," Eric replied, "We'll find her. She can't be far." He continued looking around for his daughter but noted all the other family and friends that were there. Everyone seemed to be panicking and trying to figure out the same things. It was chaotic. People were dotting the coast as far as he could see, none of them having any idea what was going on or how they got there. It was going to take time for everyone to get their bearings.

The quintet of family walked the beaches looking for their kids and familiarizing themselves with family once more. Everyone made a joint effort to find out where their kids were. There was just a couple problems. One that various people pointed out. It was questions like this that made everyone wonder what was going on and where they were.

"This bird's a dodo!"

"Is that a giant tortoise?"

"That's one big dragonfly."

"Look at those towers!"

"What the hell are these things on our arms?"

"Guys something huge just jumped out the ocean!"

"What was that roar?"

A woman screamed. Eric turned to see what was going on and everyone crowded towards that direction. A large reptilian was seen hooting at all of them. It had gotten in over its head by the looks of it. It had carnivorous teeth and a frill. It stood no taller than a large dog, but it was still menacing looking. The frill opened up and it immediately spit a glob of goo at one of the random in the crowd. It would have hit them too if they hadn't ducked and closed their eyes. The creature backed up, hissing at the crowd of people. It then bolted off into the jungle brush. This raised more questions and people were voicing their opinions and statements.

"That was a fucking dinosaur."

"What kind was that?"

"A carnivore."

"But that's not possible! They're extinct!"

"Not anymore."

"But….but."

Silence fell upon everyone. Shock coursed through everyone. The questions seemed endless, but there was one that was a primary concern that was brought to everyone's attention.

"Hey." Eric's father said, "Do you all realize something. Apart from Toddlers and most of those who are teenagers…..the children are missing."

His dad was right. Any child that was able to walk and talk, was nowhere to be seen. There were a few teenagers, but it wasn't all of them. Eric quickly found out that the majority of the Perry's, Small's, Stroud's, and Hardee's were in the immediate vicinity. There were a couple of the members of other families and some of their friends, including Kayla's best friend Kayla Osborne and Brandon Warren.

Everyone just started milling around at that point, as people tried to figure out what to do. A large group of people in a single area was safe, but some of them pointed out that they had no idea where they were and what they were going to do about food and water. Everyone gathered in a crowd to listen to Eric's father.

"Listen everyone," Donald spoke, "We need to do a few things. Most likely our kids and grandkids have washed up somewhere. We're going to have to pull together to figure out how to find help, food, and build shelters. First thing's first…"

…..

_A similar situation was unfolding elsewhere…._

Clyde Warren-

_Island - South Coast_

Clyde Warren had experienced some weird things in his lifetime, but this one had taken the cake. Them being sucked into the sky and spit out on the coast of somewhere full of extinct animals gave everything else a run for its money. This large group had already gone through the shock of waking up and not being where they remembered. The majority of their kids were missing as well as the rest of their families that were present before their arrival. There were mostly Warren's, Wright's, Owens', Lilly's, and Karnes' here with a few from the other families. He listened to his Uncle, Fred Warren talk. They had found themselves on a Peninsula

"We got to pull together y'all," He spoke to the crowd of people, "There's no guarantee that help will find us. So we have to assume that we're here on our own. There are so many of us but there's also these darn dinosaurs we got to watch out for. So I say we go ahead and see about looking for food, make some spears, and figure out what we can do about fire. We might have to make a lot of them. Nobody should go anywhere alone. I think we should keep in large groups of at least five or more. For the campfire we're going to need anything burnable and stone. I know how, but anyone know how to start a fire?" A few of the group, including Clyde raised their hands. "We might be teaching everyone how today. Alright y'all?" There were nods of agreement. "Okay. We need people on making tools. It's going to suck like everything else right now, but making them out of wood and stone is the only way right now. We'll need to make wooden spears as well as try to get some clothing going."

"Clothing?" One of the Owens' said, "How're we supposed to get clothing?"

"Well for right now we're going native," Fred said, "Clothes made out of plant material and wood will have to do for now. Unless you prefer to be running around naked eventually?" No one wanted that but there were a few chuckles, Clyde included. "Okay then, lets get started."

Clyde immediately spoke up over everyone. "Hold up," Clyde spoke up, "Anyone over the age of sixty don't do much. The rest of us will do most of the work. Girls if you got babies, stay put as well. We don't want any dino's snacking on y'all."

With that, the whole group of a hundred and fifteen got to work with the exception of the seniors and the women with infants. It didn't really take long to gather enough wood for campfires. But whenever a piece of wood was found that was straight and long enough to be turned into a spear, it was. The most time consuming job was gathering various berries. The group had found out to avoid the black and white berries as they were filling, but their side effects weren't worth it. One could put a person to sleep and the other was like an energy drink but dehydrated the consumer.

Clyde was one of the ones sharpening straightened sticks into staves, then eventually spears. "Wish I had my damn knife or somethin'." He spoke to Eddie Warren as they both sharpened their respective spears with a piece of sharpened stone. This method wasn't very effective, but it worked out eventually. The two were first cousins.

"Me too," Eddie said, "What you think's goin' on?"

"Beats me." Clyde replied, "But these animals are throwin' me for a loop. How the hell are there still dinosaurs alive?"

"I don't know cuz," Eddie replied as he picked up another branch, "But if those little fuckers are around, then you know there's somethin' bigger out there."

"Yup," Clyde agreed finishing the point on his spear, "I got eight done, how about you?"

"Seven," Eddie spoke, "Forrest?" Forrest was his son.

"Nine," He replied.

"Seven over here," A young woman named Brenna said.

"Eight."

"Six."

"Nine."

There were twelve more people who were making spears acknowledged their counts. They started passing them out to every able body, which were mostly the men. The women were fast at work trying to piece together crude primitive clothing made of leaves and plant fibers or helping out with gathering berries. Some of the men had found some Dodo's and were actively killing any they saw for meat. Fires were being built as well as primitive rotisseries made up of a few branches. Clyde had looked at their group. With everyone working together, they might just make it.

….

_Similar activities were happening elsewhere_

Shayne Tarte

_Island – South West Coast (Craig's Island)_

Shayne's hands were bloody. The blood wasn't his own or any other human's. He had just dug a spear into one of those spitting dinosaur's heads. The little fucker attacked the group just now. After he and his group had started to make a temporary camp on the riverside, they were swarmed by a pack of spitting dinosaurs. Dinosaur's should have been extinct! But no. Those fuckers were alive and kicking. He let out a sigh.

"Thanks," A woman named Whitney spoke.

"No problem." Shayne replied, "Everyone needs to be more careful. No one saw this thing come closer?" There were people shaking their heads. "Yeah, that's not gonna work. We're going to need sentries or something. What if something bigger got to us? That'd be a bad day."

"Well," A man named John Brock spoke, "At least it's more meat. Know how to dress a dinosaur?"

"I know reptiles," Someone named Kale Sutton said, "I've cooked lizard before. Can't be too different. Let me see that knife." He was speaking to John Brock who had fashioned the knife out of wood, stone, and some plant material. John gave it to him.

Shayne looked at the survivors all around them. Some of them crowded in their own groups or were gathering berries from nearby bushes. Others were currently cooking some of the fat flightless pigeons that were killed. One person was even making a makeshift lean-to shelter against a tree. Everyone was busy or something.

"Anthony come with me man," Shayne called to one of his friends.

"What's up?" Anthony asked walking closer.

"Just need some help looking for good places to post sentries," Shayne said, "We're on an island with dinosaurs. Plus that Red floating tower looks ominous as hell."

"Why don't we try to get over there?" Anthony asked.

"Why might try if Uncle Roger says so," Shayne said, "He's kind of in charge right?"

"You both are really," Anthony spoke, "He's the voice, you're the muscle."

"Whatever," Shayne replied, "Look. We need at least two people at each place we find good for a lookout. Like up there." Shayne pointed at the top of a cliff above where most of the group was. "And right over there." On the opposite side of the river was a hill that was elevated enough to see over the crowd and into the forest.

"We gonna build barricades or something?" Anthony asked.

"I don't know if we're going to get to," Shayne replied, "If there is someone looking for us. We might not be here long. But man, I tell ya, I think we're stuck here."

"That's just great." Anthony said sarcastically. He was worried for his children. They were missing like many of the other children of parents in the group. "I just want to know where my damn kids are."

"You're not alone in that," Shayne spoke up gesturing to grieving parents all around, "Listen man, we all got to pull together. I don't know if there's enough food to sustain us all. That's the main problem right now. My dad's over there working on a way to purify water, It's going to be hard, but I think we can eventually manage."

…

Peyton Warren-

_Island – North West_

"Mom! Dad!?" She heard the sounds of some kid ask. She opened her eyes. It was cold. Everything was cold. So cold. There was crying. She looked around. Her parents were nowhere to be found. Just a bunch of kids standing or sitting around. Peyton Warren was eleven years old. She had never been too far away from any adult. But this was a lot of kids. What happened? The last thing she remembered was being pulled up in the sky and ripped from her mom's arms.

Every one of the kids were calling for their parents, shivering at the cold. Peyton looked around. In one direction of the beach was a snowy place with a big blue glowing tower on top of a mountain. In the other direction was a red tower. The blue tower and snowy place was much closer to her and the kids. She didn't like this. All the grownups were gone, and it was cold. The only thing everyone had on, were bathing suits.

There was a scream. Peyton recognized her cousin. It was Lillian Perry. She ran to her. "Lil!" She yelled.

"Pey Pey!" The blonde three year old said running for her, "I want mommy and daddy!"

"I know," Peyton said hugging her, "Me too."

Kids started crying. Everything was going bad. But then something stopped it all. "ooh!" One kid pointed out, "Look everyone! An elephant!" Peyton looked over to see a massive furry elephant with strange tusks eating berries off a bush.

"So pretty!"

"Wow!"

"Cool!"

"Hey look at that!"

Peyton tore her eyes from the hairy elephant to see something much smaller. It was a large cat with long fangs. The only problem was, it was coming towards a group of the smaller kids. Peyton knew that big cats were dangerous and knew they were all in danger. "Everyone run!" She screamed. But the kids were frozen in fear as the big cat started to run towards them. There were screams but that didn't stop the big cat from running at them. It got fifteen feet away before there as a loud crack in the air.

"BLAM!"

The big cat toppled forward rolling then collapsing into a heave of meat. Everyone looked for the location of the gunshot. From the forest came a figure in fur clothing and a balaclava wielding some kind of rifle.

"Holy shit," Peyton heard the figure say. It was a man. "Uh….hey kids." The man looked around at everyone. "Fuck…." He pulled out something and spoke into it. It was a radio. "This is RC-N. I'm on the North West coast, two clicks down from the NW-outpost. It's happening again. Alpha level orders this time, I got a bunch of kids at this location. No adults in sight. Ordering for delivery of fur clothing, survival gear, and release of my pack to my location. Immediately. Over"

"_Roger that," _The person on the other side of the radio said, _"Sending out the Calvary as soon as possible. Over."_

"Good," The man said, "If there are kids here, then there are adults. Send scouts to all washup locations and have them report in any new survivors, asap. Over."

"_Confirmed," _The person on the radio replied, _"over."_

The man put the radio away before walking up towards Peyton and Lillian. He was acting strange, like he was trying to figure the two out. Letting out a sigh, he called all the kids. "Hey everyone, come here quick! I know it's scary being without your parents, but y'all gotta listen to me if you want to find them!" As he spoke, all the kids started coming towards him. "I'm going to do everything I can to help you get back to them. As long as you listen, you'll be safe and I promise nothing will get you. There are some scary animals on this island."

"I'm scared!"

"Who are you?"

"Where's my mommy and daddy?"

"I want mommy!"

"Daddy!"

"Hey!" The man shouted, but not violently, "try to calm down kids. Listen, there's a bunch of friendly doggies on the way. They're my friends and they'll have stuff for you all to put on. But for now, huddle together and hug each other tight. You'll stay warm. With that, he began to take off his fur clothing and wrapping up the little kids with it. He wore normal clothing but kept his balaclava on. Peyton felt there was something familiar about him. She couldn't place it though. "Here Lillian."

_How does he know her name? _Peyton wondered curiously, _maybe he heard me when I said it?" _She didn't know. All she knew was that this man was helping them.

He wrapped her up in his fur jacket. "Share with them." He moved her closer to a little boy named little Charlie and his older four-year-old sister Dixie. Their parents were Joshua Warren and Brandi Warren, and were the niece and nephew of Nathan Warren. "You keep them warm okay?" He was talking to Dixie.

"Pey-" He stopped as if catching himself.

"I'm Peyton," She said.

"Peyton," He repeated then continued, "I need ya help. Make sure they keep this shirt on okay?"

"Okay," Peyton replied, "But I don't trust you." Truthfully, she kind of did. Something about him seemed familiar and he was helping them. She normally didn't trust strangers, but he was nice.

"That's the smartest thing you could ever say to a stranger," The man replied, "Especially in a place like this. And I don't blame ya. Yer mom and dad taught you well kiddo." He turned to some of the other children. "Here. Use this like a blanket. Everyone huddle together! I told you it's too cold. You have to stay warm!" There was some complaining, but the kids actually listened to the man.

Peyton didn't know where her parents were, or how any of them got here. But she sure was glad someone came to help them before they froze to death. There were so many questions that filled her mind, that it was almost overwhelming. Soon though, she hoped to be reunited with her family. The kicker was, she knew the majority of these kids. They were all related in some shape or form. Their family wasn't a tree. It was a bush with too many vines on it. She remembered that a lot of her family said that each person in the family should come with nametags and what branch they were from. She hoped to see her family soon.

….

Unknown –

_Moments before the Wash up_

The Center –

Far west of the Island, was a region known as Center. There lied a contingent of men and women on an island where a blue Obelisk sat a large settlement that was surrounded by stone walls. The settlement itself was encompassed a bay and the cliff of the island. The architecture was medieval. All in the bay were ships such as Schooner's, Brigantines, and Galleons. There were a couple fishing vessels as well. The crescent bay was protected by stone walls with battlements atop them. There were different artillery emplacements ranging from medium sized cannons to Ballista's. There were even catapults. The town inside the walls were full of stone and wooden structures. There were homes, barracks, an armory, Ship construction yards, and various other structures. It was the perfect settlement. The inhabitants were blissfully enjoying their day. One woman was visiting one of the fish markets. She wore a 1860 century western blue gown while and her hair up in a snood. The women of the town wore clothing like this.

"Good morning Miss Sarah," the merchant said in a deep country voice. He was rather rotund and older looking with poorly stitched clothing on, "Is you husband working today?"

"Why yes he is," She replied in an equally western tone, "I came by to pick up tonight's dinner. How has your day been Martin?"

"Mighty fine Miss Sarah, mighty fine," The merchant spoke, "This is yesterday's catch from the Singleton boys. Of course they got some Coel. But they also got Centrian Grouper, Centrian Tuna, and Islander Sea Bass. I didn't get any shrimp this time around though."

"That's fine," Sarah spoke, "Islander Sea Bass? That's rare around these parts. The Singleton's actually sailed back to the Island Region?"

"I guess so," Martin replied, "Not many Tribes or Company's out that way to trade with, so it was indeed a rare trip. They did say something about getting some goods from the Ranger detachment though. I'm not sure what."

"Oh really?" Sarah asked, "Hmm. I heard all the Tribes that were in that Region had finally left."

"There's still a few remaining," Martin spoke, "I remember when our tribe sailed out to this Region. We never needed anything more. There weren't any raiders or hostile tribes. That's why I love this Region."

"To be fair," Sarah spoke, "not many people have explored the Center Region right? My husband said there were scouting parties still mapping out the Jungles. The further west they go, the more diverse the region gets. The only thing is, there's three large mountains that way. There's even talk of one of them floating! Floating! Can you imagine?"

"That sounds preposterous," Martin spoke, "A floating mountain? Dinosaurs we've seen, but I've never heard of a floating mountain before."

"Anything is possible," Sarah replied, "Listen, here's some coin. I'll take some of the Sea Bass. My kids will love the treat."

"Very well," Martin said taking some coin, "I-" He was cut off by something East. A blinding light flashed as the entire Eastern sky changed from blue to white and back blue with sound stopping for a moment. "Well would you look at that."

"New arrivals in the Island Region?" Sarah asked as the pure white sky turned normal color again.

"I suppose so," Martin replied putting the fish in a bag, "I wonder how many will make it?"

"I don't know," Sarah replied, "Listen. I have to get back. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Miss Sarah!" He returned to her.

Martin let out a sigh, watching the people pass by. He washed his hands for the eighth time today. He looked out at the battlements where he could see soldiers walking them, patrolling the bay walls. It was a normal day in Folly's Harbor. Everyone was currently living a normal life. His gaze drifted up towards a cloudless sky. Something caught his attention up there. Two large "dots" flew lazily west. They were large pterosaurs, big enough to support a platform saddle. These were wild however. It was a pair of Quetzalcoatlus, or Quetz' for short. They were massive flying reptiles that were hard to domesticate because of their size. They were a common sight in the region due to the tall narrow mountains in the jungle biomes. Martin watched them fly over the harbor and out of sight behind the cliff that overlooked the harbor. Soon, he would return to tending to his shop, waiting for the next customer. His thoughts rested on the new survivors that had just washed up. Statistically, he knew not all of them would make it. But he prayed that they'd adapt and not become so hostile. That first year is pretty much an "anything goes" kind of deal. It was survival of the fittest. He was glad those kinds of days were behind him for the moment. "Good luck to you all."


	2. Ark Rangers

**Ark: Dynasty**

**Chapter 2: Ark Rangers**

Unknown –

The Center – Jungle North – Along the river

There were screams all around and burning debris of a riverside village. What was once a wood and thatch building filled village was burning roof's docks, and rafts. There were people running in all directions away from a hostile force of soldiers in gray flak armor. All the men were gutted or perished in sword fights. Some were killed by attacking dinosaurs that were ridden by the hostile tribe. One villager was run down by a raptor and its rider. The raptor pounced, pinning the villager.

"No! No! No!" The villager yelled in desperation and fear. The Raptor grabbed his head in his jaws and twisted.

A raider walked over in his flak armor with a metal shield on his back. His armor was grey, only with a red helmet. He had some kind of Fabricated pistol holstered and a sword in the other side of his waist. He watched as his allies decimated the village. "All the women and children are rounded up sir." One of his Raptor mounted Tribemates spoke while running up to him.

"Excellent," The Red helmeted soldier spoke, "And the loot?"

"Primitive sir," The soldier replied, "Though there are some black pearls and blueprints for lever action rifles. It looks like they were in the process of metal gathering. Other than that, it's a fishing village."

"Round up all loot," The Red helmeted raider spoke, "prioritize most valuable and have our caravans come in and get what we need. Separate the women and children and get them on board our ships. Kill the rest of the men. After that. Burn the village to the ground."

"Yes Sir!" The soldier replied. With that, he took off, before whistling at two other Raptor mounted soldiers. They nodded and followed him towards the other side of the village.

The red helmeted man walked a few more feet before he heard someone below him lying on his back. It was a male villager. "Please. Help me," The man asked weakly as he reached for the flak boots of the head helmeted raider.

"Sure thing." He pulled out his pistol and shot a round directly in the crown of the villager's head. The Raider leader looked around the village before walking towards the Eastern entrance. Three Parasaurolophus pulling wagons had begun making their way in the village. Women and children were filed out of the village and onto a Galleon nearby. There were two Frigates with sails up, on either side of it armed with cannons and ballista. The raiding group made a risky move bringing a Galleon down a river. The river was narrow at some points. But there was a place where the Galleon could turn around safely and return East. Other than the loot and prisoners being loaded up, there wasn't much more action for these raiders.

….

Nate Warren

_Island – Northeast Coast_

"_Are you coming? I'm waiting on you."_

He woke up. The cold had woken him and the fact that it was getting dark. Immediately, he stood up looking around rather nervously. He remembered something. He was on an island full of extinct creatures. He looked back at the field. The herd of Hadrosaurs had moved down the field towards the forest. He noted how big the field was and that it was spotted with trees and boulders. He got up and walked towards them. It looked like the entire herd was gathering around a body of water and were all in various stages of laying down. Nate looked at the sun as it fell behind the mountains. Even dinosaurs need to rest, like all living things. He watched as the herd settled down, almost huddling close together tightly. Some of them drank from the water while others seemed to be looking around as if sentries. There was a Parasaurolophus and a Corthythosaurus that were alert on the edge of the herd closest to him.

When Nate walked up to them, they kind of looked at him nervously. He held his hands out reassuringly before joining the herd once more. The Herd acted like he wasn't there for the most part. But when he got close to one of the Hadrosaurs, each seemed to regard him in some way. The only exception were those in deep sleep, which were mostly the calf's. Getting to the water wasn't hard, but he did have to maneuver a little bit. He even almost stepped on one of the calf's tails. He finally made it to the body of water. It was a pond with crystal clear water. He knew drinking it without purifying it would be a risk, but he was so thirsty. He cupped some of the water in his hands and pulled it to his mouth. The water was so refreshing, that he cupped more in his hands and drank it. He chanced a glance around. The pond he was at the base of a cliff that looked around twenty feet or so high. Atop the cliff was jungle. In the crystal clear pond were fish. They weren't any kind of fish that Nate recognized from back home. They must be extinct fish. It seemed that extinct animals were a recurring theme in this land.

He sat down and dared to lean against one of the sleeping Hadrosaurs. The Hadrosaur briefly opened up its eyes, snorting, then closing its eyes, resuming its sleep. For some reason, the Hadrosaurs didn't mind him. Even he thought it was abnormal for the dinosaurs to just let him do this. But he wasn't complaining. The reptilian skin of the Lambeosaurus he was leaning against was warm. It was barely enough to keep him from being uncomfortable from the cold. He thought about building a fire. Actually, that was good idea. He got up, disturbing the Lambeosaurus once more. It bleated before returning to sleep.

He went around looking for wood and or anything that could easily be burnable. He dug a spot in the bank of the pond and put some of the tinder in. He started looking for any kind of flint or stone, which wasn't hard. His plan was to use them to ignite a fire. He had done so many times while camping. It took him a couple minutes, but the fire began to grow. The herd of Hadrosaurs were mildly curious about the new source of light and warmth, but they didn't really pay much more attention to it.

Nate thought about his family. He wondered if they were okay and where they were. He needed to find them and he was really lazy in doing so, so far. Tomorrow, he'd have to start gathering resources to find them. He wanted to find Brennan, someone he was supposed to begin dating seconds before they were all yanked into the sky. Would they ever get back home? Would they be able to start a life together? That's what he wanted. He looked over at the herd of Hadrosaurs. He had to admit though, being with these animals in the wilderness had its appeal.

…

Peyton Warren

_Island – Northwest_

"What's you're name?" Peyton asked the Ranger after a long silence.

"Call me….N-8," The man spoke, "or Ranger N. And it shouldn't be long now."

Peyton had heard howls coming from the distance before she saw what was coming. The man who had saved her and the other kids had been tapping something on the radio like he was signaling something. She was ready for help to get there. They had taken shelter at the base of a large boulder that was in the middle of the sandy field. It wasn't much help either.

"There they are," The man said in relief as he looked North up the coast. Coming down off of a frozen waterfall, like a swarm of fur, were large dogs, each carrying two or three kinds of rucksacks. Peyton's mouth went wide open. There were so many of them!

"Whoa!" Peyton said as the whole pack swarmed towards them. They were giant wolves, each being various shades of the grey scale, from white to black and were often mixed with different coats.

"Cool right?" The man said as the wolves came in to file in a straight line around the group of children, "These are called Direwolves. I use them to help me hunt larger carnivores or large amounts of meat. In this case, however, I used them to transport everything needed as they are the fastest method in doing so." He walked up to the biggest Grey and white one and petted it. It had a collar on in addition to the doggie vest with three rucksacks on it. "Good boy." He went to unclip all the rucksacks and put them on the ground. "Peyton help me out will you? Anyone else want to help out can do so as well. My wolves won't bite." Peyton went up to one of the wolves next to the first wolf. It looked younger than the first one. The wolf was granite gray with a white back with golden eyes. Its head alone was just as big or bigger than a bear's. It panted happily like an oversized ball of fluff. Peyton went to unclip the rucksack. The Direwolf laid down wagging its tail.

"She likes you," The man said, "She's only a year old and is the youngest of my pack."

"How many wolves…" Peyton asked, "Do you have?"

"I think around fifty-three total," The man replied as he unloaded another Direwolf, "We got twenty-one right here. The thing is, training them is tough and the harsh environment of this place makes it tougher to keep them alive."

"Is this place really that bad?" Peyton asked as she started on another Direwolf.

"Depends on how you look at it and how far you make it surviving here," The man said, "I've been here for three years. I don't really travel to the other continents much anymore. We're on a land that we call, The Island. There are other places as well, more just show up one day but….."

"Wait…." Peyton said, "You mean there are other places like this one?"

"Yeah," The man said, "Full of extinct animals like T-rex's, giant squids, and dragons. I'll explain it more later when we get you to your parents. But right now, let's get everyone warmed up."

Peyton obeyed, helping the man dress the younger kids in warm fur clothing. She and some of the older kids passed out jars of food. "What is this stuff?" She asked.

"Fria Curry," The man replied, "It's good for you and it'll warm ya up. It'll taste Cajun, but it's worth it."

When Peyton ate some of the curry, her body immediately started to warm up. She no longer felt cold. Being in the fur helped as well. "This is so good!" She spoke.

"Yeah," The man agreed, "We make it in bulk. Y'all eat up and stay warm. I don't know how long it's going to take before we figure out our next move. For now, it's getting dark. He began setting down torches and eventually lighting them. "This will help keep you all warm. Do me a favor, cuddle with the wolves to help stay warm and use the blankets to help cover you faces. You don't want to breath in cold air tonight."

…..

Shayne Tarte

_Southwest Coast_

Everyone had turned in for the night except a few sentries. Shayne had second watch with nine other people. Second watch was the last watch. He stared off towards the Red tower, looking at it with wonder and slight trepidation. In a few hours, he and a few others were going to try and swim across the river to see if they could figure out what exactly it was. Were there people there? Night time had come and was almost over. Once the rest of the group was up, they'd make the trek. It wasn't his idea to go to it. It was some of the others. He'd do it though, just to see what was out there. Not everyone was going. Their temporary camp needed manning and upkeep.

"Hey!" Shayne heard from the other side of the camp. "There's something coming!" Shayne ran over to the other side to see it. Coming from the beach near the red tower was a bulky looking dinosaur with larger back limbs than front limbs. It had an oval-like head with a crested mouth. It ran on all fours quickly moving. But that's not what got Shayne the most. Someone was riding It, having a white flag attached to the saddle. In old times, it was generally the sign of a request for ceasefire for negotiations or messaging. The man on the back of the dinosaur wore clothes that looked like they were hand sewn together, with the shirt dyed in forest green, while everything else including his boots and backpack were brown. On the saddle, like you'd see on horsemen who were hunting, was a rifle of some sort and a sword. He looked very fit, easily able to hold his own in a brawl. He had a brown beard and green eyes.

"Hello," The man said, "I'm Ranger Mitchell of the Ark Rangers. Island Detachment. Don't worry, I'm a friendly." Everyone started to gather around. "I'm sure you all have questions. I'll answer them the best I can." He probably regretted it. They immediately bombarded him with questions.

"Where are we?"

"Where's the closest city?"

"Have you seen our kids or the rest of our family?"

"How do we get home?"

"What the hell is that thing?"

"What are those towers?"

"What is this place?"

Before the questions piled up on the Ranger, he held his hands up. "Whoa whoa," Mitchell said, "Calm down. I'll start from the beginning. The thing is, we're on a place called an Ark. Or a Mega Ark. There is no way off at the moment."

"Ark?"

"This island we're on, the distant lands North, West, East, and South? The massive cave system under all that ocean. There's even a desert that is sort of like its own pocket dimension that connects the landmasses. These landmasses are nothing but exact replicas of smaller arks. The Ark's are lifeboats that were suspended in space around the Earth. But they all returned home, with the exception of this one and a construction station that builds Arks. Each Ark has its own geography, fauna, and hazards. There's everything ranging from Dinosaurs to Dragons on them, each with their own special abilities."

This didn't sound real. This sounded like something made up in a fiction book or something. It seemed that no one could come up with disbelieving statements for this, either.

"As for the towers," He continued, "We call them Obelisks. Every major landmass has three of them, Red, blue, and Green. On other Arks, they were used to travel to different stations and fight the guardians. Here, we're not exactly sure. They don't transport you to the other landmasses, but you can fight the guardians."

"Guardians?"

"Extremely difficult creatures to take down that are much more powerful than your average creature," Mitchell spoke, "For this island for example, there is the Broodmother, the Megapithicus, and the Original Dragon. Defeating them unlocks knowledge of advanced technology and treasures used for said technology. The last few tribes and companies to do so, have either all died out, or have gone into hiding. Another possibility is that they moved to one of the many other landmasses on the MA…..Mega Ark."

Shayne felt like this man was speaking a different language. He had seen way to many scifi movies. "Listen," Shayne said, "What you're saying sounds like a bunch of nonsense."

"I'm aware of that," Mitchell spoke, "But hear me out here." He gestured to his dinosaur, "This is a dinosaur. If what I'm saying isn't true, then how can this animal exist?"

He had a point.

"Look," He continued, "I've just got word that the rest of your group has arrived on the island as well. There are children on the West coast further North and there are people a little North east of our position near a rock formation. You all apparently have arrived at the same time….I think we should get your entire group to meet under the Red Obelisk…."

….

_Eric Perry-_

_Island - Southeast Coast_

Eric and a few of the other guys had made their way to the large rock formation East of where his family and group washed up. The formation looked to have flat surface on some of the tops and was dotted around a small inland pool of water that had access to the outside. The water was just clear enough where Eric could see the bottom of the pool. It was rather deep, having a lot of coral formations and plants down inside. They had originally scouted this way to find more of those from their family. But at the moment, it was about sight seeing.

"This place is pretty cool!" Eric's cousin Cooper said.

"Yeah," Eric replied nodding, "It sure is. I think we need to head back to the group though. There's nothing here."

"True," One of his friend's Zach said, "Might ought to get some of those dodo's on the way. Help out a little bit, ya know?" Eric nodded. He was frustrated at the moment. His daughter was missing and his wife and one-year old son was on an island full of dinosaurs. It was a miracle no one had been hurt yet. They started to follow the path back towards their group. There were many more rock formations that dotted this stretch of land that divided the ocean from the lagoon. There was also driftwood which could come in handy. Before they got far, they heard something above them.

Four large leathery winged featherless birds flew in a flock above them pitching towards the ocean. They flew in and snapped up fish in their long beaks before ascending in the air and banking back towards land at different times. They landed on the rock formations at different spots out of the reach of any would be carnivores. Those fish looked completely prehistoric that the birds had captured. But these birds were huge, easily bigger than a man.

"I hope those things don't like people." Zach said holding his spear a little tighter.

There was another screech, this one coming from behind them over the lagoon. Everyone turned to see another one. But this one had something on the back of it. A rider? The group readied their spears in case they had to defend themselves.

"I'm friendly!" The man on the back of the bird yelled flying around the group. The other birds that were eating their meals took off quickly in different directions. He kept the bird circling them, probably trying to make himself a harder target to hit if the group of five decided to throw their spears. "I'm Ranger Olsen. Yours?"

"Eric Perry," Eric replied, then went on to name everyone else in the group.

"I was sent out because we got word that there were possible survivors who arrived. Look's like I found you. There are more of you out here. Another ranger found a bunch of kids on the west side of the island. I wasn't expecting there to be anyone near Stonehenge."

"Stonehenge?"

"That rock formation over there," He pointed at it as he continued to have his bird circle around them. He was pointing at the large rock formation around the water that the group had scouted out earlier. "Listen. I'm not going to attack you all, and I'm pretty sure you all have questions."

"Like for starters," Eric spoke up, "You said you found a bunch of our children? Go ahead and land."

"Whether they're yours or not," Olsen spoke up as the bird landed, "we don't know. But there are two groups that we know of that arrived last night. We might ought to…."

"Hold on," Zach said as Ranger Olsen got off of his bird, "Maybe we should wait until we meet up with everyone else. We're just a scouting party." Olsen wore clothes that looked like they were hand sewn together, with the shirt dyed in forest green, while everything else including his boots and backpack were brown. He even wore a leather flight helmet with goggles.

"I see," Olsen replied nodding, "Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Where abouts are they?"

"Further west down the coast," Eric replied, "They're probably setting up shelters right now."

"Might want to stop them then," Olsen spoke, "Because since all the arrivals are close to the Red Obelisk, we want to rendezvous with everyone there. That way we rangers can explain everything to you all at one go round. It saves time and helps you all adjust to being here. I know you're going to be antsy, but you're not the first to arrive on this island, and you won't be the last. But your group is by far the biggest I think."

"We better get moving then," Eric looking at the rest of the scouting group, "If we want answers y'all. And personally, I want to find my daughter as soon as possible."

"I'm with you there brother." Zack agreed.

"Me too," Cooper spoke up.

"Right then," Olsen spoke walking back to his bird and taking an assault rifle of some sort off of the saddle, "Let me store my Pteranodon really quick." With that, he slung his assault rifle over his shoulder against the side of his backpack then pulled out a blue high-tech cylinder-like object with ridges and held it up at the bird. The bird started to glow blue and pixelate before vanishing in a small flash. "Nice and comfy."

Everyone gaped at Olsen, including Eric. "First off," Zach spoke up, "What the fuck?"

"Oh." Olsen said, "Gonna have to explain that one too I guess. Well, I stored him in a cryopod. Lets me carry my tames with me portably. Don't worry nothing's wrong with it. It's just frozen. I can bring him back out when I need to. Confusing, I know. But we'll explain everything when we get to the Red obelisk."

Eric briefly wondered what this red obelisk was. With that in the back of his mind, He and Zach led the scouting party back towards the group. Olsen had pulled out a radio along the way. "This is Ranger Olsen," He said, "I'm in route along South Coast towards Weather Top, leaving Stonehenge with some of the new arrivals, over."

"_Roger that R-O,"_ Another voice said, _"I'm coming through with a Motorboat escorted by Sarcos for river crossing from the Southern Islets. Jackson should be on the other side of the forest by now, over."_

"_This is Ranger Jackson,"_ Someone on the radio spoke, _"Affirmative. Taking care of some Carno's at the moment. We rolled up on a pair. I'll be at rendezvous point alpha afterwards."_

"Roger that," Olsen said, "Anyone else found anymore washups? What's the status on Cragg's Island and West coast washups? Over."

"_This is Ranger Mitchell,"_ Another voice spoke, _"Cragg's Island washups are cooperative and we are almost ready to proceed to Red Obelisk. Evacuating area in eta ten minutes. Over."_

"_This is Ranger N,"_ Yet another voice spoke with audible wind in the background, _"I'm going to need transport for one hundred plus children. I got the escort of Direwolves, I just don't think they'll make it to the Red Obelisk on foot. Over."_

"_What about the diplos?"_ Another voice spoke, this one being a female, _"We haven't had much use of them as of late. They're fast and capable of staying with the direwolf escorts. Over."_

"_That could work,"_ Ranger N replied, _"Ranger Carly are you available to bring them over asap? Over."_

"_I am,"_ the female voice spoke, _"The babies are all fed and taken care of for the moment. How many Diplos are you suggesting? Over."_

"_Let's see,"_ Ranger N replied_, "There's approximately 155 children here, so I'll take 14 of them. The last person will have to ride with me. Speaking of which, I need a land mount. Since I've got one of them with me, I'm thinking a Galli? Over."_

"_Why not a flier?"_ Carly replied, _"over."_

"_Don't wanna scare the kid,"_ Ranger N replied, _"Better to stay on the ground. Unless you wanna provide Air support? Give your flock of Dimorphs a little test? Over."_

"_Good Idea,"_ Carly replied, _"I'll be over there, ETA fifteen minutes. Over."_

By the time the radio transmissions were over, they had almost arrived to the rest of the group. The sounds of a boat engine could be heard coming down the coast from the East. On either side of the boat was a huge crocodilian with a narrow snout. Those things were at least forty feet long. They kept up with the boat easily. The boat itself was a very large pontoon boat with no roof. Just several seats. The driver waved at the party. The two crocodilians immediately sped up pass the boat killing something in the water. Eric's adrenaline started to kick in at the sight of them. The others showed their discomfort as well.

"Relax," Ranger Olsen spoke, "They're tamed creatures. They won't attack unless Ranger Duncan orders them to. He's got them keeping away potential threats of the boats and survivors. Taming is one of the many things we're going to talk about when we round all of you up."

"Who's this?" Eric's father Donnie asked as the scouting party finally made it to the beachside Perry camp. The boat obviously caught the attention of the group as well. Ranger Duncan had the boat idling away from shore so they could

"Dad," Eric said trying to remain calm, "Gather everyone up. Stop what they're doing. This is Ranger Olsen, and that's Ranger Duncan out there. Just met them. But they've got a whole team looking for everyone who was brought here."

"Whoa slow down," Donnie said as a lot of the group gathered around, "What do you mean? How do we know we can trust these people?"

"Dad," Eric said, "One of them has found most if not all the kids! There's even one of our group close by on an island!"

"Technically it's part of this island," Ranger spoke, "We just call it Cragg's Island." He stepped in. "Look sir, I know it's very confusing. I know you don't have a reason to trust us. But right now, we only want to make sure there aren't any casualties amongst your group. Long story short, you're on a continent full of dinosaurs and creatures of myth and there are a lot more regions with even more species in every direction. It sounds like I'm crazy, but I promise you, I'm not."

"Dad," Donnie said, "Uncle Paul, Carlton. Get everyone over here or stop what they're doing. We don't need shelters at the moment. We're about to leave." Paul nodded.

Pretty soon, everyone was gathered around. "Okay everyone," Ranger Olsen said, "We're gathering you all at the Red obelisk." He pointed at a large floating tower in the distance. "From here it'll probably be a day's walk or so." He pulled out a map and pointed at three locations. "This is where we are. We have to cross three rivers in order to get to the Red obelisk. That's why we have a boat and Sarco's. Sarco's will scare off any Megapirahna in the waters and are good fighters on their own. The Pontoon is here to ferry you all from one side of the river to the other as safely as possible. Those two Sarco's are completely domesticated. They won't harm you intentionally. I suggest that you all gather everything you can carry and let's get moving." There was a distant roar as if to emphasize the importance.

Soon, the group had gathered whatever they could carry and started to trek West. Duncan drove the boat further ahead with the large crocodilians trailing behind. On the way there, Eric and his wife Kayla, who held their toddler, talked. Zach Beaty and his wife Katy Beaty were walking with them as well as Kayla Osborne.

"You think there's a chance that Lillian is with that group of kids?" Kayla asked.

"I sure hope so," Eric spoke looking up at the Red obelisk in the distance, "I knew that we had a couple of kids at the party, but I wasn't expecting a hundred and fifty-five children."

"What I want to know is," Zach spoke up, "How did we end up washing up on this island the way we did."

"What?" Eric said, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Zach said, "Most of your family is here. The Perry's that is, and some of the friends of them. And literally, everyone but the kids are here. I think all the kids washed up in the same place. It'd be weird as hell if the Warren's did the same thing or one of the others did."

"That's highly likely," Ranger Olsen said, "One thing you all have to get used to. The science of this place is not exactly the same as science as you know it back home. Having prehistoric animals taking orders from you is probably the best example right now."

"Or riding a bird." Zach quipped.

"Yup," Ranger Olsen said, "You think that's bad. Wait until you see a Mosa rider."

"Mosa?"

"Mosasaurus," Olsen responded, "Big ass prehistoric whale that eats anything. Seafaring tribes and company's use them for a variety of things. Some build bases or homes on the back of them, others use them for naval combat."

Everyone looked at him like he grew a second head. "Oh you all haven't seen anything yet," He said, "Nothing on this Ark surprises me anymore. I've seen things like Giant squids, dragons, and giant apes. But what will really scare the hell out of you are the Titans. Or Kaiju, depending on who you ask. I've heard they're tamable, I just haven't seen one tamed yet."

"How big are they?" Paul asked chiming in.

"What's the tallest building you've ever seen?" Ranger Olsen asked.

"I've been all over the world," Paul replied, "The Eiffel Tower maybe?"

"The Forest titan stands about that tall," Ranger Olsen said, "It stays in the woods of a distant region so you all are safe from it. It's kids though, that's another story. Anyways, the more I explain to you now, is the more I'll have to repeat myself later." That was the end of that conversation as far as the nature of the Ark went. It was mostly chatter about reminiscing the days before they arrived. It seemed to keep people distracted. Ranger Olsen had told them to be on guard because anything can jump out the jungle at them.

After a few hours walk, they arrived at the river. One of the Sarco's was basking on the shore while the other floated just underneath the water near the anchored pontoon. Ranger Duncan was leaning against the railing of the Pontoon looking to enjoy the sunshine. Duncan wore clothes that looked like they were hand sewn together like Olsen's, with the shirt dyed in forest green, while everything else including his boots and backpack were brown. His uniform differed from Olsen's when he had a beige fishing vest on, aviator sunglasses, and a tan boonie hat. Everyone moved towards the area with caution. That Sarco was much bigger than Eric thought. His uncle Paul was a tall man standing 6 foot 3 inches. His head barely peaked over the crocodilian's rough scales on its back. It's head alone was almost as long as a car. The rougher plates along its back were dark green, while its body was more Brown.

"You sure that thing is tamed?" Donnie said. Everyone was standing back at least thirty feet, which didn't mean much considering it was almost forty feet long.

"Yeah," Ranger Olsen said confidently. To add further confidence, he causally strolled up to it and patted it on its side. The Sarco didn't make much movement, just gently shook its head without a care in the world. "What did you end up naming this one?" He was talking to Ranger Duncan.

"Margie," Duncan said, "She's a beauty. Ollie here is her mate." He gestured to the other Sarco as it slowly floated up to breach the water. "Got a whole incubator of Sarco eggs back home. Think I might have my own little fleet of Sarco's. But that's a long way off."

"Y'all breed dinosaurs?" Eric asked.

"Yup," Duncan replied. Everyone had another surprised look. Duncan grinned pushing his aviators up as they slipped down his nose. "Man, I love beach bob's."

"What's that?" Katy asked.

"It's what we call new people who wash up here," Duncan said standing up, "You aren't the first people who have done so, and you won't be the last. No offense or anything. We've just been doing this for a while. And it's always the same questions, every time. And the reactions are always pretty much the same." He had Eric wondering exactly how many times they had done this before. "Look, I know you're all tire of walking, but we got to get you all to the Red Ob. I can ferry about twenty people at a time and that's pushing it. Any more and the boat will start to sink."

"Right then," Ranger Olsen said, "So everyone start loading up."

"Okay first over should be able bodied men," Donnie spoke, "Just to make sure it's safe for the ladies, kids, and older folk." It was about fifteen minutes into the crossing the basking Sarco Margie started hissing. Ranger Olsen stayed with the group on the starter side. He walked over to her side looking over it. There was a theropod coming over. Eric had remained on this side with a few other men with their crafted spears just for an occasion like this.

"Raptor," Olsen said using Margie as cover while resting the gun on her neck pointing at the Raptor, "Look's like a Utah." Eric got a good look at the said Raptor. It was taller than a man, with a slightly stocky build. It had feathers growing from the top of its head, along its spine, the back of its arms, and on the tip of its tail. Each limb was armed with sickle-like claws. It immediately ran at the group.

Ranger Olsen fired his assault rifle at the charging Utahraptor, cutting it down quickly. This got the attention of the other part of the group on the other side of the river. "Keep an eye out for more," He said, "Raptors rarely travel alone. They're pack hunters."

"Right there!" Cooper yelled. Out of the jungle burst out two more Raptors.

Margie let out a bellowing growl before launching herself at the two Raptors. The sudden movement made Ranger Olsen stumble back. One of the Raptors jumped over her snout running towards the remaining group of survivors. The other was snatched up in her jaws and slung around like a ragdoll. The raptor snarled at them running into the crowd.

The men had to act quick. Ranger Olsen couldn't fire an assault rifle into the crowd for fear of shooting someone other than the Raptor. It seemed that the Raptor found itself surrounded by everyone with spears. It knew it was in trouble. It looked around angrily and nervously, spinning around daring someone to lunge at it as it snarled. It seemed to be looking for weaknesses. Nobody wanted to throw or lunge their spear to leave themselves defenseless. But they knew they couldn't keep this up either.

"Hey!" Eric said holding his spear tightly figuring to try something, "Guys on that side. Let it through. It looks like it's trying to get out."

"We let that thing out and it'll come back," One of his cousins said.

"We'll be long gone," Eric said, "The rest of us will push it away."

"That'll work," Ranger Olsen said walking up aiming his assault rifle at the raptor, "Just be careful. These Raptors are smart. We turn our backs and it'll pounce before you know it. You five, tighten up and all come together towards us. Open the circle." They started to do so. The Raptor didn't even let them get far before bolting between them. It ran towards the jungle. Eric breathed a little easier now. Duncan had made a return for the eighth time.

"Margie," Ranger Duncan said pointing at the jungle, "Move over there until we get everyone across." The Crocodilian did as he said, positioning her long body like a barrier between the jungle and the remaining people on Eric's side. Eric wondered how it seemed to understand him on an intelligent level. "Alright next few pile in."

A few minutes later, everyone was on the other side of the river, far away from the last Raptor. Margie lumbered into the river again with her mate. "Now that everyone's across," Duncan said to them, "I'm going to the next river down. That one has a wider entrance, so it'll take longer than this time. I'll be waiting."

"Alright see ya there," Ranger Olsen said. Ranger Duncan speed off towards the ocean then banked West down the coast, his two Sarco's following him. He turned to the group. "Do you all have enough food to eat before we continue? I imagine some of you are hungry."

"We got just enough," Donnie spoke up, "We cooked some of those Dodo's before you came to us."

"I'd eat then," Ranger Olsen said, "You're going to need your strength."

The group decided to do so, each taking the time to ration out their food. "Listen. Keep an eye out for anything that might try to attack," Ranger Olsen continued as he threw his cryopod out to reveal his Pteranodon, "I'm going to scout ahead at the peninsula. It's not usually teeming with carnivores, but you never know. Okay? When you feel like y'all can continue, do so. Ranger Duncan and his Sarcos should be over that way."

There were a few nods. The Ranger then got on the saddle and the Pteranodon jumped up in the air and flapped its wings before flying West, getting higher and higher before finding its height. Pretty soon, it had become a tiny dot.

…

Clyde Warren

_Island – South Coast_

Clyde was standing near the top of the cliff in the peninsula bay. He and a few of the others in their group had travelled up it to see if they could get a better view. A better view was a loose term. To get there, they had to scale some steep terrain and venture into the edge of the jungle. The view from the cliff was amazing and it was probably safer than being on the beach or bay. He could see everyone down below taking care of menial tasks. There were a few friendly waves from those below. Clyde or his group hadn't found anything notable up there, just the occasional Dodo and spitter. Those were easy to kill. The Dodo's were used for meats. The Spitting dinosaurs were used for their hide. Clyde had to admit, without making a tanning rack or something, the hide couldn't be used for much. They needed to make one because they had all kinds of hide from the spitters. There wasn't a name for them that he knew of.

Shortly after their little venture, they went back down to the beach. Tirelessly, the group had been working on gathering resources and materials for shelters and weaponry. Clyde had started crafting a bow before he went on the sightseeing trek. He picked up right where he left off. He was an excellent marksman, favoring a bow for hunting. It was no compound bow, but it'd get the job done when he was finished. The night before, they slept relatively peaceful with no interruptions from the wildlife. It still didn't sit well with Clyde that they had no real weaponry save some spears and rocks. But when he finished his bow, he'd have some kind of ranged weapon.

"Hey guys look at this!" Someone shouted. It was Austin Lilly, Clyde's nephew. He had just turned twenty-one and was somewhat naïve of the world when it actually made sense. A lot of the group had stopped to look at what he was talking about. In front of them was a small dinosaur around a foot and a half tall with a skinny body and three feathers atop its head. Its entire head was angular, almost wedge-like with dark beady little eyes. Its limbs were tiny, and it had three appendages on its hand. He didn't know much about dinosaurs, but Clyde knew a carnivore when he saw one; and this was a carnivore. Not a dangerous looking one, but one no doubt. The little dinosaur didn't look like much, but he knew that looks could be deceiving. It made a chirping sound before tilting its head, blinking, then running back into the forest.

"What kind of dinosaur was that?" Someone asked.

"Not sure," Another spoke, "But next time it comes over this way, we need to scare it off. I doubt it's got much meat to it. Probably a scavenger."

He had a point there. That thing was small. It was probably a scavenger, like vultures or buzzards. The large group went back to working on what they were doing. He could see two of his family members who were his uncle and uncle's son, Uncle Mike and Brodie. They were busy creating fish nets with some of the plant fibers they had been collecting. Mike used to be a game warden and Brodie was the captain of his own Yacht. Both were avid fishermen as well.

"I don't like sitting around here." Clyde heard his wife say, "Peyton's out there somewhere." Her name was Amanda. She was a blonde, with green eyes, tall, and skinny with a thick southern belle accent.

"I don't either," Clyde replied, "But we aren't the only ones in this situation. I'm gonna try and see if we can go looking for anyone who was with us before we wound up here." There was a distant roar as if to emphasize his words. "The best thing we can do is to stay busy. Once we can feed everyone a bit better we might head out to start finding them."

"Enjoy the view up there?" She asked.

Yeah," Clyde replied, "It looked pretty neat. Peyton would love to see everything from up there. There were a couple Dodo's and those spitters too. But nothin' worth mentioning."

A screech had originated from the tip of the peninsula coming from the East. Clyde and the group looked over to see a flying reptile looking creature. It had a long beak and crest, with leathery wings. It was a greenish color. But that wasn't the only thing getting their attention. On the back of the creature, was a human! The entire group got in a defensive position readying their spears incase the rider was hostile. Who the hell rides a dinosaur? The reptile came to a stop in midair over the water, flapping its wings at an increased pace to stay in a singular position.

"So there are more of you…." Clyde heard the man say, "Well hell."

"Who are you?" Uncle Fred asked.

"I'm Ranger Olsen," The man replied, "You just got here yesterday morning correct?"

"How do you know?" Fred asked over some murmurs.

"Because there's about three more large groups similar to yours that came here yesterday," Olsen responded, "One group is on their way towards this direction going to the Red Obelisk…I think you're all related….? And one of the other rangers have found all the kids in your group."

There were many questions that began to arise. "Hold on everyone!" The ranger said over them, "Let me explain. We're trying to get you all together before there are any casualties. In order to do that, I need to let the others know there's one more group added to our original plans. Here. Let me land my bird."

Bird? That thing didn't look like a bird to Clyde. Maybe it was a nickname for it or something. But he was relieved that his daughter had been found. He and his wife hugged in relief. This man had some explaining to do. The man landed the bird looking at the group that converged on him. "Like I said, we're trying to reunite every one in your group. By the way, is there anyone y'all know named Eric Perry or Paul Perry? Those were the two names I remember most in the group East."

"Yeah!" Clyde spoke up, "That's my niece's husband and in-laws."

"Okay good." Ranger Olsen said, "That confirms it. I'm pretty everyone that washed up on the island is part of the same family. That's strange because that normally doesn't happen. At least, not in this large quantity."

"People wash up here all the time?"

"Every month or so," Ranger Olsen said, "The casualty rate is pretty high and usually we arrive too late for most wash ups. I'm going to have to call in some more support. I think the amount of Wards I have now has just doubled, if not increased more. Busy day, busy day. Everyone. I've got to contact the others to let them know we've got another group to watch out for."

There were a few objections. "Everyone calm down!" Clyde voiced his opinion, "We don't know nothin' about this place! This guy seems to be trying to help. Let's let him work. We've got a whole lotta family to get back in touch with."

Everyone quieted down to allow the Ranger to use his Radio. "This is Ranger Olsen," He said, "Everybody read loud and clear?"

"_This is Ranger Duncan. I hear ya loud and clear R-O," _A man said, _"Over."_

"_This is Ranger Carly," _A female said, _"Over."_

"_This is Ranger N," _A male said, _"Over."_

"_This is Ranger Mitchell," _A male spoke, _"Over."_

"I found another group from the same family," Ranger Olsen spoke back, "We may need more transport. This group is on the Footpaw Peninsula. Do we have a Galleon nearby? Over."

"_This is Ranger Maximus," _Another voice spoke, _"You need a Galleon? Over."_

"Affirmative," Ranger Olsen said, "Are you nearby? Over."

"_Yes," _The voice on the other end said, _"Had to kill a Leed though. Fucker ruined me taming a Meg. Over."_

"_You've got the worst luck taming sharks," _Ranger Carly spoke, _Over."_

"_In his defense," _Ranger Mitchell spoke, _"We all do. The only semi-aquatic tame we can manage are the swamp tames. Over."_

"_If there Leeds weren't a thing we'd be set," _Ranger Maximus spoke, _"Anyways, where do you need the Galleon? Over."_

"_Probably at my location first," _Ranger Duncan spoke, _That way I can ferry them out to the Galleon. From there, you can probably make it to Red Ob in two or three trips. Over."_

"_Sounds like a plan," _Ranger Maximus spoke, _"Alright give me a few. I'm coming from the East. Over."_

"We'll head to the tip of the peninsula," Ranger Olsen spoke, "And be prepared to board when we can. Over."

"_Copy that." _Ranger Maximus replied, _"Over."_

"_This is Ranger Abby," _"Another female said over the radio, _"I've checked the Eastern and Northern washup zones. No sign of any other washups. Over."_

"_This is Ranger Jay," _A man said over the radio, _"There's someone in the North. I saw two beacons go down and someone walking into the jungle towards the hidden Oasis. The only problem is, he ran right into an Allo hunt. I couldn't spot him. The Allo's killed a lot of Galli's in there. I'm not sure if he made it out. Over."_

"_Damn." _Ranger Carly said, _"Hope he made it out."_

"_I'll keep looking," _Ranger Jay replied, _"Ranger Jay out. Over."_

Ranger Olsen put his radio away. "Okay, we might want to head to the tip of the Peninsula," He spoke, "we'll be waiting a while, but the Galleon will cut your journey in half."

"Where exactly are we going?" My cousin Brian said, "What's this Red Obe?"

"That tower over there," Ranger Olsen responded, "The Red Obelisk is where we're going to have everyone meet. It's the safest Obelisk that's close by." He pointed at the Red Obelisk. "That's the tower right there." The group glanced at it.

"That thing can't be manmade." Amanda spoke, "It looks alien."

"It's not," The man said, "It's manmade, but that's going to be hard to explain. Let's just say it's built by a machine that builds Terraformed Stations. Anyways, shall we?"

The group had started packing up everything they could before heading to the tip of the peninsula. They noticed that on the other side of the water that separated the peninsula and the eastern land, was a small pontoon boat and a crowd of people on the shoreline. There was a large wooden sailing vessel. That was definitely a Galleon. It took them almost an hour to get loaded up before the Galleon sailed around the distant landmass Southwest, which Ranger Olsen told them that it was called Cragg's Island. Soon, Clyde and his family would be reunited with the others. He just hoped everyone was alive and well.

…..

_Peyton Warren_

_Island – Northwest Coast_

Peyton Warren wasn't known for her patience. They had waited an hour or so for a woman named Ranger Carly to show up. Peyton was ready to get back to her mom and dad. The kids couldn't really go far as the wolves would kite them back to the group. They were protecting them, but it felt like a prison; at least to Peyton. At least there was a wolf to keep her company. The female Direwolf that Peyton had befriended wanted to play. Peyton didn't mind. She'd tackle the Direwolf playfully and the big pile of fluff would proceed to allow her to lay on her side. Peyton knew that if this wolf was serious, she wouldn't have even made her budge. Ranger N looked at her with his arms folded.

"Does she have a name?" Peyton asked rubbing her side.

"No," The man said crouching down, "When you have a whole pack of fifty plus of them, naming all of them becomes difficult. What would you name her?"

"Codi!" Peyton said immediately.

"You've been thinking about this for a minute, haven't you?" Ranger N spoke.

"Duh."

Ranger N let out a hefty laugh. There was an eagle-like screech. "She's here." Ranger N said looking over at the frozen Tundra area. A massive gray bird of prey glided down. It was large, its head resembling a Turkey Vulture's but with much more feathers on its head. Its plumage was gray with a dark head and feet. The wing tips were just as dark. The bird wasn't the only thing in the air. Behind it, was a flock of small flying reptiles with bulky head. There were about twenty or so of them.

The other kids seemed to panic a little bit. "What kind of birds are those?" Lillian asked Peyton running to her in fear.

"I don't know." Peyton replied.

"The one Ranger Carly is riding is called an Argentavis," Ranger N spoke up, "For short you can call them Argy's. The smaller flock of reptiles are called Dimorphodons; or Dimorph's. As they got closer, the other kids started to panic and huddle up together. Ranger N looked at them. "It's okay everyone they're not going to hurt you. They're going to protect you."

It didn't seem to do much good in Peyton's eyes. She _wasn't_ scared. She was a brave person. But she still wanted her parents. It was all the other kids who seemed to be scared. Nate's niece and nephew Dixie held Charlie who seemed to cry and another girl named Kloe who was somehow related to them.

The Argentavis landed outside the circle of wolves and the flock of dimorphodons flew around the area in circles like a protective shield. "Good morning y'all." She said dismounting the bird. The bird clicked its massive beak. Ranger Carly wore fur clothing with a pair of flight goggles as well as a backpack.

"Ranger Carly," Ranger N said, "Good to see you. These kids are getting restless."

"I figured," Carly said nodding, "The quicker we get them to their parents, the better off they'll be. Better do this organized then. "Alright kids, I'm about to do a magic trick. Wanna see?" That seemed to get everyone's attention. Even Peyton was curious. "Okay. There's about to be a big friendly dinosaur that appears. It won't hurt you and it wants you to ride it. When it's full, I'll make another one appear. These guys are the friendliest dinosaur out here. Okay?"

There were a few answers and nods. It was like it normally was to Peyton. Jumbled up and unable to tell what everyone said. Peyton was wanting to see what this magic trick was as she was skeptical.

"Okay," Ranger Carly said, "Watch this!" She threw some kind of capsule and in a blue flash something big appeared.

There were a bunch of "oohs" and "wows" from the other kids. In front of them appeared a long neck dinosaur who's neck was long, but its tail was even longer. It had four legs like most animals but was bulky with a big underbelly. Its tail was like a whip and its head had a bulky skull that looked like someone had smashed the sides of its head together. It had a short maw and teeth. In Peyton's opinion it looked derpy. There was a large saddle on its back with five seats on each side and a middle open area to put supplies. There was a seat in the front where the reins were. Each seat had a seatbelt. On either side was a small walkway with a rolled up rope ladder. Peyton guessed it was so because it would be easier to get onto seats on the dinosaur.

"Alright listen up kids," Ranger N said, "We need you all to get on a one of these Diplo's. Eleven per dinosaur. We'll help you out." It took forever for them to get the first eleven kids boarded with the little supplies that the Rangers could give them. But once they did, the Diplo was moved forward with two wolves guarding it. Afterwards, Ranger Carly made another appear, and the process repeated until there were no children but Peyton left. She was the oldest out of the kids. She had to promise Lillian that she'd be okay riding the big "longneck dinosaur." Peyton was the only one who didn't have a ride at the moment.

"What about me?" Peyton asked looking at the large herd of occupied Diplodocus'?"

"You ever rode a horse before kid?" Carly asked her.

"Yeah a few times," Peyton said.

"Why don't you ride Codi?" Ranger N asked.

"The wolf?" Peyton asked.

"Well yeah," Ranger N spoke, "I ride Direwolves all the time. In fact. I'm going to ride the pack's Alpha."

"So I guess there was no need to bring a Dakotaraptor," Ranger Carly said, "They don't really get used much by us."

"Sorry," Ranger N said shrugging, "Didn't think Peyton and Codi would take to each other this much."

"Codi?" Ranger Carly asked, "The wolf? Since when did you start naming your wolves?"

"I didn't name them," He replied, "She named it." Ranger N changed the subject, "Anyways, we've got to get moving before dark."

"Agreed," Carly spoke while getting on her Argentavis, "I'll scout ahead and have the Dimorphs drone around the herd."

"Sounds like a plan," Ranger N said as Carly and her Argentavis took to the sky.

"What did she mean by Droning?" Peyton asked as Codi came walking up.

"It's something she trains all our fliers to do," Ranger N said, "Droning is keeping near the herd in the air but not disrupting their movement. They fly circles around the herd and call out any threats they see. If we tell them to be aggressive, they'll all swarm the threat if the wolves don't go after it."

"Oh."

"Come on now Peyton," Ranger N spoke, "Get on Codi's back." Codi laid down as if trying to encourage her. She let out a small whine too.

"Alright already," Peyton said huffing. Ranger N chuckled.

"You've got to hold onto her fur now," Ranger N said, "Don't worry about pulling on her. She won't feel it much. Just don't go trying to yank any fur out now."

"Okay," Peyton said nervously as she swung her leg over. The wolf was patient, as if she knew it would be tough for the little girl. Peyton latched onto some of the fur on the Direwolf's back near the nap of her neck. Peyton felt something though. It felt weird. "What is that?"

"What is what?" Ranger N asked getting on his Direwolf.

"I feel different."

"You feel a connection almost?" Ranger N asked. She nodded. "That's normal. It's weird, but it helps humans control what they're mounted on as far as riding them and telling them to attack. You still have to train them though. Codi is trained in riding, attacking, and jumping."

Peyton barely nudged her hands forward into Codi for the wolf to move forward. It wasn't like riding a horse. It was much more simpler. But that didn't make her comfortable with running just yet.

"_Ranger N," _Peyton heard over the radio, _"Everything looks clear down the coast. Recommend getting a move on now. Over."_

"Roger that," Ranger N said into his radio," We're about to move out. Over." He put it back in his pouch before having the Alpha walk towards Peyton. "Sorry Pey. Looks like you're going to get a crash course in Dirwolf-back riding."

Peyton froze up slightly. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You can," Ranger N said, "I believe in you. You just got to have the will to do so. You wanna see your mom and dad right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then," Ranger N said nodding, "Let's move then." They started out slow, both moving towards the front of the herd. The closer they got to the front, the more comfortable Peyton got with riding Codi. When the Diplos started to move behind them, it generated some noise. Fourteen big dinosaurs, several Direwolves, and a flock of little noisy Dimorphs could possibly attract attention of bigger predators.

It wasn't until the Diplo's started running did Peyton realize how fast they were. She didn't think anything that big could keep up with the direwolves. She also felt it easier to ride Codi while the wolf was running. Codi herself avoided obstacles, and she followed in line with the Alpha. Peyton looked back to see the Diplo's doing the same thing. She'd have to ask Ranger N about that. She could hear some of the kids laughing over the ground shaking and massive footsteps. She felt at ease now. It wouldn't be long until she and the other kids would find their family.

…

Brennan Perry –

So many emotions were coursing through her right now. She and her family had washed up on this island with Dinosaurs all over the place. She was on board of an old Galleon. A Galleon! A sailboat that wasn't used much in their time. She looked over at Eric and Kayla; her cousin and his wife. The two were hopeful of finding their daughter, who seemed to be on her way to the Red tower with another group of kids. She looked longingly at them, happy that their family was going to be restored. In fact, she was just glad everyone was okay. Her friends made it and were there with her and her family. Everything was working out so far. Her mom and dad were there, her brother and his wife were there. Hopefully their son would be with the other children. It seemed everyone important in her life had made it. There was still one name up in the air that she wasn't sure about. Nate Warren; her crush and was so close to starting a relationship with. She couldn't help but worry about him.

She leaned against the railing of the Galleon on the starboard side staring at the island. The worry was apparent on her face. "Sweetie what's wrong?" She heard her mom say, "You've been quiet."

"I-" She began. How do you explain to your mom that you're stressed, but happy that your family is all safe, but your future boyfriend is out there somewhere on this island and you hope he's okay? She sighed. "Mom."

"Yes dear?"

"I-," She said, "I met someone."

"Honey that's great!" Her mom said, "But….when we figure out a way to get out of here…..I'd love to meet him."

"That's the thing mom," Brennan spoke, "He's…..on this island somewhere. I hope he's okay and with his family."

"Ooh," Her mom said interested, "Is he handsome?"

"Mom stop!" Brennan said almost embarrassed, "But yes. He is."

"Well tell me about him," Her mom said, "Where did you meet him?"

"At the festival," She said, "He's really sweet. He bought me a drink. But I don't think he realized what it implied."

"What do you mean?"

"I think he was just being nice." She said, "Because I gave him a drink that I was passing to everyone. At first, I thought he wasn't interested. Turns out he's shy. And he's not used to people."

"Oh!" Her mother said, "So does he know how you feel?"

"Well…." Brennan replied, "We got to talking right before we all were brought here. He wanted to try and start something between us. But….we were pulled up into the sky."

Her mother looked at her with a heartbroken expression. "I see," She said, "Well I hope we find him. He's probably with one of the other groups."

"I hope so," Brennan spoke rubbing her arms. She wished that she could get out of this bikini and into some real clothes. She couldn't wait to meet up with Nate again….

…..

...

...

...

**Dino Dossiers –**

Corythosaurus –

Wild: If ever there was a loud dinosaur that could be heard across a distance, it is the Corythosaurus. They are known for their singing and different calls which can be handy for directing other members of their herd to do something or to warn of a nearby predator.

When flocking, they have intense vocal patterns to direct other dinosaurs, which in a herd can cause a stampeding effect. They can also mimic sounds of dinosaurs like carnivores to deter smaller ones from attacking or staying away. Unfortunately, this is a double edged sword as it can also attract bigger or rival carnivores.

Domesticated: A tamed Cory can be invaluable. One of these can scare away wild dinosaurs away from a location, depending on their mimicked vocal patterns. Well placed Cory's can be employed for several different tactics ranging from taming, hunting, or redirection. They can rally nearby allied dinosaurs to their location to defend an area or pave a way for escape. I've heard "choirs" of Cory's sing amazing melodies in villages often just as entertainment.

Lambeosaurus –

Wild: Lambeo's are well known for being extremely difficult to hunt or tame. It is difficult to track them, and even harder to kill them. A lone Lambeo is difficult, but one found in a herd of other Hadrosaurs, makes them near impossible to do anything about. Because of their special diet, taming them by Knock out is impossible. Their abilities require their diet to include Narcoberries and Stimberries, which is basically their fuel.

Their abilities are extremely unique for a dinosaur. For one, they can mask their scent from most predators. Second their defense mechanism of producing a large amount of smoke to cover their escape is known. Some can even emit a gas that can cause drowsiness, making their pursuer sluggish and in rare cases induce sleep. Any Hadrosaur caught up in this sleeping gas, will be immune. When in a herd, this effect can create extremely dense fog.

Domesticated: Lambeo's are living smoke and gas grenades. I've seen tribes using Lambeo's during raids to provide smoke cover. Tamed Lambeo's can be taught to control just how much gas or smoke they emit, and require a large amount of Narcoberries or Stimberries. Taming them effectively, requires gaining their trust through "playing" with them, or by feeding them Narcotics or Energy Brew. Their abilities are excellent for base defense as well being able camouflage their owners and building in smoke for sneak attacks. It seems that those who manage to tame a Lambeo, learn to be able to somewhat see through Lambeo smoke, however, they are just as vulnerable to their sleeping gas as anything else.


	3. Manufactured Engineered Humans

**Chapter 3 – Manufactured Engineered Humans**

_Nate Warren_

_Northwest Coast_

The next morning he woke up ready to start gathering supplies. He had already made a spear, a makeshift belt, a stone pick, and a stone hatchet. It wasn't hard for him to do so, but it did take a few hours to make everything. He stayed relatively close to the herd of Hadrosaurs. They didn't seem to stray far from the field that Nate had left them in. He couldn't help but notice their behavior. He wanted to study them even more, but he had other priorities. He was taking a sip of the water in the pond when he saw it. West, was a beam of light. He also saw one on the coast, he was guessing to the south. West was closer.

He immediately went for it. He saw something coming down in the beam of light on the coast, but the one west had already something touching the ground. He made his way towards the beam. Something about it enticed him. It probably wasn't smart because if he remembered correctly, he and his entire family did get stuck in this land thanks to a beam of light. When he arrived, there was something touching the ground and it looked completely alien. It was a diamond-like prism with smaller diamond plates rotating around it. This thing didn't look real. As soon as he got closer, the plates stopped spinning and sunk into the object.

Immediately his left arm started vibrating. He looked at the diamond crest embedded in it. It felt weird. He looked back up at the alien object only to jump in slight fright. He could see some kind of interphase. It said _Specimen Supply Beacon_ with three different options. To Nate, it was like he was looking at an ATM machine when he went banking. The only difference is that this thing was alien. The options were: _"Clothing, Explorer, Campsite."_

The implications of something like this was weird to him. He knew what his choice would be. Maybe it would give him something? Nate looked down at his swimming trunks. It was immediate. He went to tap his finger on the _Clothing_ choice. His finger went through the hologram, which he immediately remembered nothing made sense in this land. The alien construct immediately glowed before the interphase disappeared and it the entire thing dissolved. In its place on the ground was clothing folded up neatly. The clothing was strange. It wasn't like I was used to seeing back home. It was burlap clothing. It wasn't much, but it would keep the sun from beating down on him. There were five pieces to the set. Burlap shoes, a burlap sweatshirt with a hood, burlap pants, burlap gloves, and a burlap sack.

"I feel like this is a videogame or something…." Nate said to himself, his voice coarse from not talking much. He quickly put on the clothing, realizing that it actually fit him quite nicely. It wasn't much but it was enough to keep the sun from beating on his bare skin. After that, he decided to try and check out the other supply beacon. It took him ten minutes to reach the next one. This one's options were similar. _Resources, Explorer, Campsite. _He immediately selected explorer because he was supposed to go on the move. This crate did the same thing that the last one did. It disappeared leaving several things. One looked like a makeshift spyglass, a torch, three flare guns, some kind of modern GPS, a folded piece of large paper, a book, and plastic pens. Nate had to do a double take. Everything else looked primitive but the pack of plastic writing pens and GPS. He was actually thrown off by that. It was more of an enigma than the supply crates themselves. Nevertheless, he took it all. The big piece of paper threw him off more than the pens. It was a map of a continent with a grid over it. In the top left was something that said _Regional Map – The Island_ _(92.8 kilometers)_

There were three different colored circles, a green one in the East, a blue one to the Northwest, and a red one to the south west. Wait a second. He then checked the map again. The GPS told him his coordinates. _Regional coordinates: 17.0, 72.9_. He was facing southeast. He checked his coordinates on the map. According to the map, he was on the Northwest side of the island. This island was huge. It might as well have been considered a continent. There were two smaller islands on the East side of the island, the Northern most one he could see from the shore. There were numbers and letters dotted on and a legend on the side of the map. There were various names showed on the legend near his area. He was on the Northeast Shores, with there being a place called Hidden lake further inland. A ravine was directly on the other side of the Hidden Lake area known as Smuggler's Pass. The island off the coast was known as Dead Island. He scanned various other names but didn't pay much attention to them. He did want to check out Hidden Lake though. From what he could tell, there were three different entrances, One North, one Northeast, and one Southwest. He decided to try his luck Northeast as his plans were to travel south.

He made the trek down to a point paying close attention to both his GPS and surroundings. The last thing he wanted to do was to be attacked. He mainly followed the beach until he got to a certain point he had made on the map using the GPS, before turning into the jungle. He kept an eye on the GPS to pinpoint his location. He didn't want to miss the entrance. The jungle was so dense. He heard movement all around him, some sounding small, something was large out there. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't keen to find out. Actually, he sort of was. He just didn't want to be in biting range. Why did he come in here again? It was a terrible idea. There wasn't a real, path that was man made, but he stumbled upon one that looked like many dinosaurs had walked it before. He followed the path, stopping when he saw something ahead. There was a large amount of movement ahead from little knee-high theropods. There were so many of them. They moved across the path as a single unit, squeaking and calling. There were so many of them. He was pretty sure they could strip a cow in seconds if they wanted. Their movement was more prominent than any other sound in the jungle at the moment. It was like they were running from something.

He got his answer when something much bigger bolted out chasing them down with a snarl. Nate waited a moment before continuing, just in case it doubled back or there were more of those predators. It looked Theropod, though. He eventually kept moving, doing his best to keep a clear visual on the path and nearby predators. Soon, the edges of the path turned from open jungle, to crevice. He was directly at the bottom of it. There were boulders and different plants on the ground, while the jungle canopy was just as thick as ever, making sure not to allow much sunlight through. The path winded slightly. He looked up seeing something hanging on the cliffs. There were a group of them. They were small and out the way, looking down at him curiously. They were a species of prehistoric monkey, because Nate had never seen one like it. They were extremely powerful jumpers despite their size. They easily bounced back between small alcoves on either side of the crevice. Nate kept moving ignoring their chitters. Finally he came out into a large area that was surrounded on all sides by tall cliffs. In the center of the area, was a large pond that had had flatter area on all sides save for the South western side where the entrance was. A small plateau overlooked the pond, He could see it was relatively flat from where he was. There weren't many trees closer to the pond, but there were a few that were noteworthy as they were much bigger than any deciduous tree he had seen before. As he made his way atop the Northwest plateau he turned to see the entirety of the Hidden Lake. If there was a chance of not getting off this island, he'd want to live here. It was secluded and if he could wall off the entrances, anything trying to get in from the top would break their legs or even die in the fall, thus free meat. There was even fish in the pond. The looked like large groupers or something, but if he had to take a guess, they were prehistoric too. Without spear fishing for one of them, he couldn't exactly tell.

Nate then decided that he had seen enough. He made his way towards the Southwest exit when he heard something. It was rumbling. The only problem was, the rumbling was also moving the ground underneath him. He had encountered this before on the plains of Africa during a trip. Zebra and Wildebeests would stampede through the Serengeti being chased by predators.

"Fuck," He said to himself before seeing further down the path. Large Ornithopods were running his way and a lot of them. Gallimimus. He could tell by looking at them. He started to run with them. He wasn't as fast as they were obviously. They were extremely quick in his book, easily able to keep up with a cheetah at full speed, if not faster. There were so many of them. They all ran in a general line too, like a flock of birds. Nate dove to the side as the group ran. He had to backtrack to the Northernmost entrance as the herd of Gallimimus kept filling up the entire area. They just kept pouring out the Southwest entrance running in different directions, calling to one another. It was like they were trying to find their way out. They were panicking.

That's when he heard it. A god-awful roar that sounded VERY big, followed by six more. Coming into the Southwestern entrance way were three very large carnivores. They looked like T-rex that he had seen but were much smaller in build. He guessed they were either Allosaurs or Albertosaurs. He couldn't tell from this distance. All he knew was that they had a similar body type of a Tyrannosaur. They spread out into the Gallimimus snagging one each, shaking it like a rag doll, then going for another. The Gallimimus couldn't scatter, so they followed others out the Southeastern entrance. Nate sat there and watched all this unfold. The carnivores had made at least three kills each and they began to feed as the rest of the Gallimimus fled. One came towards Nate himself, sounding as if it was winded. Nate had hid in some shrubs, ready to leave at a moment's notice. He just witnessed the end of a prehistoric hunt. The stray Gallimimus ran pass him and down the path.

Nate decided to leave at that moment. His original plan to cut through the Hidden Lake has now been scrapped. He was going to have to go through the North exit. Maybe he could go around the Hidden Lake canyon like he did before. Unfortunately, that'd take a lot more time. Unless he went on the western side of Hidden Lake, he had added a day or two trek back around. He'd go the western side, through smuggler's pass. Keeping low and out of the carnivore's sight, he set down his path.

The path was just like the one before, only it was narrower. There wasn't any activity. Just the occasional monkey or dodo. He found the ocean again, however, only it was the Northern Coast. He looked East to see the plateau the herd of Hadrosaurs were located on and the cliffside he fell asleep atop the day before. It was a good mile away or so. He checked his map and GPS to figure out his coordinates and the location of Smuggler's pass. He decided to follow the beach, then when it was a straight path to smuggler's pass, he'd head for it. As he walked, he could see a massive snowy mountain in the distance. It had a snowy forest on the lower portion of the mountain, but as it got higher the mountain became more rugged with cliffsides and boulders. It looked beautiful, but he couldn't help but wonder what kind of creatures would live on it.

He continued on his way walking around a much smaller plateau than the one the Hadrosaurs occupied, sticking close to the water. As he walked below the plateau, an unnatural movement in the water caused him to jump. Coming out of the water, was a large tortoise that was bigger than him. It had a purple rigid shell and was armored on its joints and the top of its head. The tortoise let out a moan before walking towards the leafy greens of a lone plant. It ignored Nate for the most part. After his fascination with the reptile was over, he continued on. It took another thirty minutes to get to the coordinates he had pinpointed before he would head to Smuggler's pass. He decided to take a quick breather, realizing he hadn't eaten anything since this morning. He chowed down on some berries that he had wrapped up in some of the leaves from the plants he picked them from. He had learned that a few berries alone wouldn't fill him up. They were appetizing, but he needed something a little more filling, like meats. What he wouldn't give for a T-bone steak right now.

It wasn't until he sat there for a moment did he realize something. Where was he going? He knew why he was going. But where? He realized that, though he had a path set, he was wandering aimlessly in retrospect to find his family and crush. He should have thought about it more, than going out and trying to find someone on this massive island. Hell, they could be in any other region if this wasn't the only one. He was assuming it wasn't, because the map was titled region. He put his head in the palms of his hands trying to figure out what he was going to do. He was frustrated, scared, and wanted his family. In the past, he'd shy away from them. He had trouble acting normal around other people. Right now, they were all he wanted.

….

_Eric Perry –_

_Island Region: Red Obelisk_

Being under a giant floating tower that glowed red was not how Eric pictured coming here. Under the Ark was a wide ridge that travelled along a cliff, in which one exited West, and the other East. In the center with a wide path leading up to it from the lower area was a large round natural pillar with a high tech round platform. There was a console in the center of it with a beam of red light connecting it and the floating tower. Along the cliffsides, and a small landmass that acted as a corner, were spires with high tech structures imbedded in them. With the exception of the path that lead to the center, water separated the center and the ridge. Docked in the water was a Galleon and a Pontoon boat. Ranger Duncan's two Sarco's swam around lazily occasionally snapping up fish.

It wasn't surprising how quick a large area like this could fill up, especially with the amount of people that were here and attended the get together. The Rangers were patient with them, as the family greeted each other. It all calmed down until the children finally showed up riding the backs of several large herbivores. Everyone was rushing over to the western side of the Red Obelisk trying to get their child. The only problem was, only one sauropod could be offloaded at a time because of their size and the sheer number of kids and parents in the area. The Diplo's, as one of the Ranger's called them, were cryopoded once they were unloaded. That was a struggle. Like everyone, Eric was impatient when trying to get his kid, but he reserved himself to avoid conflict with anyone. His wife was going a little crazy, which he couldn't blame her. It was such a relief when he could finally wrap his arms around his daughter though. There was a massive flock of flying reptiles that covered the area, and large wolves pooled up around the western entrance.

What shocked a lot of people, especially her parents, was the fact that Peyton had been riding one of the wolves. There was so much going on at one time, too many people talking, it was hard for Eric to keep track of everything and everyone. Everyone wanted to thank Ranger N and Carly for rescuing the kids. Ranger N was kind of closed off, keeping his balaclava on. He did happen to change into something cooler. He still kept his face covered. When everyone was settled down and as calm as they could be, the Rangers finally spoke up. They all introduced themselves. Ranger's N, Carly, Olsen, Duncan, Maximus, and Mitchell.

"Before we begin," Ranger Olsen said, "We need to make sure we got everyone safe. We don't know any of you very well, so you're going to have to do a headcount to see who washed up." That was going to take a while. But everyone got started. It was going to be one hell of a time.

Eventually, after about an hour, and people shouting each other's names across the area things finally settled down. Everyone in Eric's family was there, along with Kayla's immediate. Everyone was present in the other's as well. No one really started panicking until a single name had been called over and over.

"Nate?" He heard the sounds of a man. Eric believed it was Nate's brother.

"Where's Nate?" Amanda Warren yelled out.

"Anybody seen Nate?" Shayne Tarte yelled. Eric shook his head. Please. No.

"Nate!"

"Nate!?"

"Nate!?"

He looked around. "Is he over here anywhere?" His wife Kayla asked looking around.

"I don't see him," Eric's dad said.

"Oh no," Eric heard Brennan say, "Please…..don't tell me….."

Everyone called his name out. Eric looked up at the Rangers. Ranger N was the only one scanning around frantically. The others just looked at each other. Why? Of course, it was going to be like this. Of course, it was Nate that was missing. Damn it.

"Nate!"

"Nate?"

"Nate, where are you!?"

"Calm down everyone!" Ranger Mitchell said, "Look, we'll have the other Rangers look for him. If he's out there, we'll find him."

"I'll join the search," Ranger N said abruptly and handed something to Ranger Carly. He whispered something in her ear for a moment. Ranger Carly nodded. Because of the crowd, Ranger N didn't run through them. He simply dove off the side of the central pillar into the water and swam towards his pack of wolves. That was impressive. The group watched him order his pack of wolves to move out as he mounted the alpha. He left with all the wolves except one. The one that Peyton had rode in on. Eric thought it was strange that the Ranger was so eager to go searching. It was like he was panicking over it.

"Listen," Ranger Mitchell spoke, "I…..know it's going to be difficult to continue without knowing about your family member. We know there was someone up North due to one of our scouts. If he's alive, they'll find him. Even Ranger N, our best hunter and tracker has joined the search." Eric looked over at Brennan who had tears running down her face. His Aunt Joy, her mother, had her wrapped up in her arms. What was going on there? Did she like him or something?

"Right now," Ranger Olsen, "We need to get you all up to speed. No doubt, we've given you all tidbits while you were all in separate groups. But we haven't even scratched the surface of everything. We'll give you the rundown. Our Archivist Ranger Lauren is busy making copies of a lot of stuff we already know, from the history of the Ark's, survival, the known species, and regions. Everything that's detailed will be in those books. For now. Let's just get everyone on the same page."

"We don't know the exact year on Earth," Ranger Mitchell said, "But it's probably hundreds after a cataclysmic war. A resource which so far is unnamed by any other record other than Element, was discovered, which gave birth to countless technological advances which is known as Tek Tier. The thing about Element is, it's a highly powerful substance, and in large quantities it is pretty much alive. After using Element for thousands of years or so, Earth started to become corrupted, birthing the Titans or Kaiju. The Kaiju walked the Earth, ravaging it corrupting it with more element. The King Titan was defeated, which was the reason the Element couldn't be eradicated. When it was destroyed, the Ark grid finally returned back to Earth, cleansing from the 90% of the element that inhabited the Earth. There are still pockets of Element, that grow back once harvested, but it's at a maintainable level."

From what he was saying, it sounded like this happened in the future or something and we got sucked up into the future somehow. That explains the light.

"An ARK," Ranger Mitchell continued, "is basically a lifeboat that was launched into space engineered to create terraformed environments that housed diverse flora and fauna. Not all Ark's are the same size. One in particular was the biggest one of all. It was one we nicknamed, the ATLAS. I'll get into the history on that particular Ark later, maybe. That one is a whole other animal compared to the other Arks. Ranger Maximus can probably tell you more about it. Anyways, each Ark is unique in different ways. The Ark we are currently on, is called a Mega-Ark. It is literally a huge copy of all the Arks in the Grid. We don't know what its purpose is, all we know is that it's stationed near Earth's moon. In retrospect, this Mega-Ark is so massive, I highly doubt that it's been explored fully by anyone, especially the Ocean and underground regions." He looked over at Carly who nodded.

"You all already know that this place is full of flora and fauna that are supposed to be extinct or myth," Carly spoke, "Let me tell you, there are countless species of creatures out there; a lot of them have subspecies or variants, strictly based on their environment or region. On land you will see things ranging from Titanomyra or ants, to Titans that can scale a mountain in a jump or two. In the air, you'll see things like those Dimorphodons that are flying around to large creatures such as Quetzalcoatlus. In the sea you'll find fish like Bass or Bream to absolute goliaths such as Mosa's or Moeder the giant mother eel. There are around 1500 confirmed species of different creatures not including variants. Now we haven't studied all of them, just what's mostly on this island. At least our detachment has. If the extinct creatures weren't enough for you, there are Dragons, giant apes, Golems, Hydra's, Manticores, Wyverns, and Phoenix's. There's even Basilisks, alien-like creature's known as Reapers, and other Draconids that are out there. The Kaiju are a whole other ballgame. Once known for being constructs of sentient element, they are now creatures added to the Mega-Ark. At this point, I want you all to think like this. It's not a matter what creature does exist, it's a matter of what doesn't exist.

This was making everyone's head spin. How in the world is any of this possible?

"We've got a catalogue of all the creature's we've come across on this island. Every creature has their own abilities, utilities, strengths, and weaknesses. You can domesticate the majority of creatures and there's a few different methods for doing so. The easiest way to domesticate any kind of creature is raising it from the time it's an infant or hatch it from a fertilized egg. I've seen people ride giant squids and fly on the Desert Titan. Not all creatures are going to be organic though. There are creatures known as Tek Creatures and then there are mechanical creatures. Tek creatures are highly advanced robotic versions of dinosaurs such as Tek Raptors or Tek Rex. When wild, they survive off of sunlight and oil. When domesticated they need to be refueled by gas, oil, electricity, or propellant. And they usually don't need much. As for Mechanical creatures, most of them can be as sentient as an animal, but a few require human operation like the Scout or Mek. Mechanical creatures are built, not bred. We've come across ten different kinds of mechanical creatures, but you won't see the vast majority of them on the Island. We'll get more into the different species later. For now, Ranger Duncan?"

"Right," Ranger Duncan said taking over, "You've probably noticed, other than the creatures and the fact that we're all technically in an oversized exhibit that science doesn't work quite right here. For example, on Earth, there's always a large area where saltwater and freshwater become brackish. It's where the water doesn't mix well, dividing the rivers and the ocean. Well this place doesn't have that. It just changes without warning. Paper itself is easy to make, and once it's made, it is impossible to get wet. You can burn it, but books or journals no longer suffer from water damage. And the ink or charcoal doesn't either. I don't know how; I don't question it anymore. Also, making Jerky is exactly the opposite of how it should work. You oil the meat down and put it in a preserving bin. Your poop? It can be turned into fertilizer."

That garnered a few laughs from everyone. Eric even cracked a grin.

"I'm being serious though," Ranger Duncan continued, "In a Fertilizer Box, which is where it's made, you mix the right amount of thatch, fresh plant fiber, and feces from animals and basically bakes into fertilizer. Hell, Dung Beetles are more effective though. Also, Greenhouses are the way to go if you want to produce more crops in a fast pace. Maintaining it though, that's another subject. Another thing that Earth ran out of; everything here is literally a renewable resource. We call them nodes, because they grow back. Obviously, some things grow back quicker than others. You'll find that metal, obsidian, or any kind of rock will appear back where it was if you leave the area alone. The same goes for trees and plants. They will grow back faster than you thought possible. We don't know why, it just happens. This Mega-Ark will also simulate weather patterns and natural disasters as well. The Ocean acts like a normal ocean on Earth. There are thunderstorms, lightning storms, sandstorms, hurricanes, waterspouts, snowstorms, blizzards, tornadoes, tsunami's, earthquakes, electric storms, volcanic eruptions, and heatwaves. There's a portion of the Mega-Ark that simulates the Lunar Biome from the Genesis simulations. There are only a few ways to get to it. Personally, none of us has been there. But we were told that it's near inhabitable and is located outside the Ark superstructure. To get in and out, you need to go to a Lunar Portal. The Lunar portals are basically doorways to the outside of the Mega Ark, but you can't go far. Your Implants have a range. You'll be warned before it starts to kill you. Lunar Creatures never stray far from the Ark's designated lunar biome. So if you ever find yourself out on a spacewalk, don't stray too far. The implants are something else entirely, I'll let someone else explain that to you. Another thing is, say goodbye to die by old age. Whatever age you washed up on, or how you look, is what you'll be for the rest of your life…."

There were gasps. Eric's heart dropped. He's going to have a toddler forever! Cooper and Lillian were never going to grow up!?

"Hold on now," Ranger Olsen spoke up, "He didn't finish. Your kids will group up and stop aging around twenty-five. You yourselves will age probably five more years. But once you do, you'll be set at that age for the rest of your lives. It's a blessing and a curse. If you're having a hard time following anything we're saying up till now, what I'm about to tell you is going to drive you insane. We've had many different reactions, we've had them ourselves. We've accepted it. But I want you all to know one thing. No matter what I tell you, each of you are an individual. You are human. Whatever makes you, you, is you. But you're going to question that. You're all related, that's a fact. It'll even say it on your Implant. What's about to be said, is going to fuck you up in so many ways. First though, how are humans made?" Everyone remained silent. They knew it was rhetorical. "The same way any other lifeform is made right? Or most of them. Mammals give birth, reptiles, insects, and birds lay eggs. These are all true. No matter what you all think, you were not born this way."

What?

"You were genetically bred by the memories of your past selves," He continued, "You are living clones with all the memories and traits that you once had. But the problem is, your memories, your emotions, etc, were part of a simulation. All of this was originally artificial. You just developed them. You remember all of these things, yet the bodies you currently have, have never experienced them. You all arrived here by whiting out. We did too. Whatever we remember before we originally wash up or arrive on an Ark, only happened in our minds. Like part of an algorithm in the internet."

There were outbursts to that. We weren't real? This was like some Matrix bullshit. There was no way this was real. We existed! Eric felt it down in his very being. Everyone standing here were living humans before they got here! This man was lying! He was too busy freaking out to be listening to everyone else's denial of this apparent reality. The children, they didn't understand. Not fully at least. The Rangers all stared at them, with blank faces of reality. This existential crisis seemed to last with everyone for another fifteen minutes before everyone started to calm down. Eric believed it now. He believed everything this man had just said because it was like a dream he was in before he got here. It wasn't like a memory. A dream.

"And now that the existential shock has passed," Ranger Olsen said, "That's your engineered mind accepting what was just told to you. You were engineered to allow yourself to think more rationally than a regular human. The Existential Shock is a brief time where you're hearing the truth about washing up, but easily accepting it. It helps with surviving. Everyone goes through it. I did too. So now that you know that we're all basically manufactured, let's get into us individually. Before the Ark grid returned back to Earth, we humans couldn't have kids. Why? Because a survivor known as Helena activated the Grid's respawn feature. It sounds crazy, but our conscious was stored in the, we're going to call it the Ark Cyberspace. When we were killed, we washed up as soon as we died several minutes later with all our memories intact. Everything that was on us, such as clothing or gear, was lost or where our previous body was, if there's anything left. When one of the survivor's finally killed the king titan on Earth several years after, she deactivated it. There's a thing called human population control. In order to allow breeding, the Respawn feature must be off. It's like a light switch. To breed, turn off immortality. For everyone to be immortal, turn off breeding. As far as we know, once all of us die, that's it for us. But you can breed like rabbits once you turn twenty-one. And even then, you yourself can switch off breeding in your own body. Best birth control ever. So if you wanna make love without having a kid, just make sure you turn it off breeding on your implant."

"Uh this seminar's getting uncomfortable!" He heard one of Shayne Tarte's friends say in humor, "And personal. I don't know how to feel about this." There were a bunch of laughs at this. Even Ranger Olsen grinned. He was trying to lighten the mood. Everyone was on edge now.

"I'm glad some of you can crack jokes and laugh at a time like this," Ranger Olsen spoke, "It means your head's are on straight."

"Well I don't know about that but….." Shayne's friend said in humor again. There were laughs.

"_Anyways,_" Ranger Olsens continued grinning but getting serious, "The question is, how do you die? Well. You get eaten, starve, thirst to death, lose too much blood, die from sickness, drown, or in a natural disaster. Basically, anything can kill you, except aging. Remember, you are engineered humans. The next thing you need to know is about your Implant and how you're going to believe that you're in a videogame. Don't obsess too much on this. Just choose carefully. So let's say this. Whatever age you washed up on, is now going to be known as level. It sounds more badass that way. You can still refer yourselves as a thirty-year-old man, woman, etcetera. But that age that you think you are now, is what level you begin at. So you washed up thirty, that mean's you're level thirty. Get it? These levels, are used to augment your potential. There are eight Augmentable statistics. Health, Oxygen, Stamina, Agility, Strength, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Intelligence, and movement speed. Potential is where you can be. To get to your potential you have to train yourself. If you don't keep yourself at your potential, nothing happens, you just won't be as strong, etc. It works just like with anything. Strength training and Cardio for stamina and movement speed. Ingenuity and Intelligence usually comes from your education or creating things. Those two are the easiest to maintain. Agility is another that comes with Cardio training, only it governs things like parkour or moving around during a fight. Basically, your footwork as well. Health is simply how much punishment you can take. It also helps with being treated with medicenes. Oxygen is purely how long you can hold your breath without needing air. I think the record is a hour underwater? Maximus currently holds that distinction." That was unbelievable in Eric's opinion. "Fortitude is simply how much you can stand extreme temperatures, your alertness, and your resistance to sleep inducing effects. Movement speed is how fast you are. Generally, the lighter and nimbler you are, the quicker you are running. I've seen people quick enough to keep up or outrun a wild raptor. Like I said, augmenting your body is one thing, training it to reach and maintain that point is another."

"And now that Olsen has mentioned the implants and augmentation," Ranger Carly took over, "A similar feature can happen with tamed creatures. You can level up a creature while training it. But the kicker is, some dinosaurs won't have any kind of value other than being eaten, like Dodo's. You've all eaten Dodo's. They are basically the easiest to domesticate along side the chickens found in the ATLAS region. Both lay eggs pretty well. Before we get off topic, creatures can be leveled up. Health, Stamina, Strength, Oxygen, and movement speed. It's relatively the same thing for creatures as it is humans. The only thing is, movement speed has some limits to it. Otherwise, there'd be tamed Bronto's zipping around the region in seconds. You have to teach each domesticated creature commands, tricks, or using their abilities if they have them. They don't just automatically know how to handle a rider's commands. It's like breaking a horse. My point is, you have to learn the difference between a creature being raised as livestock or a creature being used for utility. Like a Dodo for example, you wont find much use for it outside of eating it, using its feathers, using it for bait, or using it as an egg layer. But lets say an Ankylosaurus. They have the ability to to harvest metal nodes, flint, and crystal much better than other creatures. Obviously, they'd be used for mining. Don't ask the science behind how they get more yield than others; that's just the way it is. Every creature has an ability similar to this. Anky's are considered a Utility mount in our books. As for a War Anky; let's just put it this way. Any creature can be effective in combat. You just got to know how to use it. A lot of creatures, such as Anky's, Stegos, and Bronto's use their tails to hit things. We call that an AOE attack, or Area of effect. Anything in that tail's range is going to be sent flying and hit hard."

"Okay," Ranger Maximus said, "I think it's time to start talking about Mega-Ark Loot. When you hear loot, you automatically think pirates or thieves making a score right? Well, technically that's true. What I'm talking about is Loot containers. There are five mainstream kind's of loot containers. There's Beacon's, Deep sea loot crates, Deep Desert Loot crates, Deep Cave Loot crates, and Orbital Supply Drops. The beacon's are usually full of common gear manufactured by the Ark itself. They're the most common and less interesting. Unless you're just stacked with equipment or materials, there's no reason not to collect one of these. Next are the "Deep" Crates. These contain high quality gear which can either be a blueprint or actual physical copies of a gear. The Deep Cave crates, have variants just like the Beacons. Orbital Supply Drops is based off of OSD's that fell from orbit on Earth. These are similar to Beacons only they drop much more. They're rare though and they don't have designated landing zones like Beacons do. They're new to the Ark's. The kicker is, they have a habit of summoning creatures to attack them. It's like a survival challenge created by the Overseer of the Mega-Ark. It's another thing you don't want to question. There's no reason how or why. It just is. Let's talk about different kind's of beacons. There are six different colors of beacons, White, green, blue, purple, gold, and Red. There are two different variants of each color. One with a ring around it, and one without. The Ring will guarantee high quality loot with blueprints. Each Beacon will demand what kind of loot you want. It'll usually drop six slots worth of loot. A slot in this case is what inhabits that selection. Like shoes for one slot, a shirt for another, that type of thing. Say for instance, the white drop will have maybe three different selections to choose from at a time. These selections can be clothing, explorer, campsite, resources, furniture, or rations, etc. When it has a ring around it, it'll drop a blueprint and how to make a better version of what's on the blueprint. Quality of an item is measured by its endurance, cost of craft, and its modifications. Say for instance, you can make cloth out of cotton or ballistic fiber. The only way to know how to do that is to be able to interpret what's on a blueprint. Quality is broken down into five types from normal to even better: Basic, Ramshackle, Apprentice, Journeyman, Mastercraft, and Ascended. Say for instance, a normal cloth shirt made with cotton is considered Basic. One that you can weave up on your own. But if you use refined materials such as silk or ballistic fiber, it can be considered a higher tier such as Apprentice or Journeyman." Eric prayed that he would remember all of this. This is starting to feel like college all over again. Like with loot, there are different grades of resources such as Iron, Iridium, Tin, Copper, Cobalt for metals. There's Wetwood, lightwood, softwood, dark wood, aged wood, and ironwood for wood. This kind of distinction can determine what you'd need to make better quality items or certain kinds of items. Naturally, not all these different grades grow in a region. You have to collect them from other places in the Mega Ark. That's where the idea of trade comes in. You can trade resources for other resources. Learning trade is a key survival skill here. Learning to build is whole other thing. I'm going to take it that you all have your own walks of life. Some of you have professions that are useful correct? Like carpentry, engineering, nursing, or something like that?" There were a few nods. "Well, those are important skills to have. Your implant has a very strange function. You can see the engrams inside your mind. Engrams in real life are hypothetical changes in memory inside your mind. Here, they are instant knowledge that you become aware of once you spend Engram points on them. Say for instance, if you didn't know how to make a fire. There's an engram for that. If you didn't know how to build a Thatch hut, smithy table, or refining forge. It's all in there. There are so many engrams from simple survival to building Tek Tier items. There are two types of Engrams. The one's you have to work at, learning about it, and those you can spend engram points on. Learning about it is a hit or miss kind of deal. You got to learn how to tame creatures, or problem-solving skills by trial and error. Things like creating a platform saddle, you've got to know how to build a Platform Saddle Station to place the Platform Saddle on the creature. A lot of engrams are connected. The Engram trees are going to have to be explored on their own as it'll take us forever to explain it all. As for the children or anyone under the age of eighteen, they will not be able to access their engrams. Apart from learning the engrams, you can learn them through being taught. Engrams are just easier ways to learn." So this place operates on a "growing mind needs to be shaped" kind of deal.

There was a pregnant pause.

"With that being said," Ranger Duncan said, "Each survivor has "levels" for lack of a better term. Levels are gained through experience, learning, and fighting. Every survivor can level up to 105. You cannot level up without defeating the guardians or the Overseer. For every guardian you beat, that is five levels more you can gain. Once you defeat the overseer, you can gain fifteen more levels. We only know of 19 regions; We know that there are more because there are stories of distant lands. Each Region has its own guardian. So far, we've seen or know of nine guardians. One is in this region; the Island Region. It's the Origin Broodmother Lysrix, a giant spider creature that lives deep under the island and the mother of all Araneo spiders. In the Center region, there's the Megapithicus Origin, a giant white gorilla that lords over the primates in its dominion from atop the mountains. The Origin Dragon is located in the Ragnarök region. It lords over the Wyverns and Dragons found there. Over in the Scorched Earth, the Origin Desert Titan is the Guardian, which lords over the harsh desert. Over in the ATLAS Region, the Origin Kracken, or Ocean Titan is the Guardian. The Valguero Region has the Origin Manticore. In the Antartika region, there's the Origin Frost Titan as the Guardian. In the Aberrant Depths, there is the Origin Forest Titan. Origin Moeder, is the Guardian in the Tiamat Region. With defeating these known entities, it'll allow you to level up to 165. Ascension is another thing that needs to be considered. There are three ascension levels. Gamma, Beta, and Alpha. To ascend, you have to defeat the Overseer once. That awards you with the Gamma Ascension level. Defeating it the second time will award you with Beta Ascension Level, and a third time is Alpha Ascension level. So what is ascension? Well, ascension allows you to do things others can't. They have extra abilities others do not. We only know of one person who's ascended all three times. He's not here at the moment, so there's no point in trying to explain it."

The more Eric listened to the Rangers, the more he wished none of this was real. He just wanted to live his simple life with his family and friends and be done with this whole thing. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. Maybe it was his own moral code or ethics that told him it was time to start making a camp where they could all live. That was going to be one hell of a camp though. He wondered how it was going to work out with everyone. Would it be too crowded? Where would they settle? There was another silence. They were letting Eric and the family soak in all the information they were just given.

After a while they continued. "So," Ranger Carly said, "Now that you all have the basic rundown, I think it's time we get you all working on your own settlement. I don't think you'll be able to all stay in one place for very long. There's just too many of you. I wouldn't settle on an Obelisk, at least the Red one or the Green one due to them being heavy traffic areas and where you can find the way to the Broodmother. We can give you maps of the Island Region, but it's up to you to explore and figure out where you want to settle. From here on out, we can't help you as far as resources or food goes. We simply do not have enough at our disposal to help a large grouping like this. We'll help you with what we can, but we can't hold your hands. Getting your children to you took a lot of our cold weather gear and we've run dangerously low on Fria Curry, which is filling, but also has an insulating effect that allows you to survive better in extreme cold conditions. Anyways, we can discuss this all we want, but getting you all to a place to live should be priority, then figuring out what to do about your food situation. You're all together now."

"We hate to leave you all like this, but we've got our own problems to deal with at the moment," Ranger Olsen replied, "We'll send someone by with what we can as well as written works to help you understand the ARK. You can stay at the Red Obelisk for the night, but I'd recommend moving as soon as possible. Anywhere down south will be safer in comparison to the Northern and central areas. The only downside is, metal is virtually nonexistent save a few mountains in the Islets. Crystal is up there as well. But for other resources, such as stone, flint, thatch, wood, trees, and fiber, those are abundant. Oil can be found in the waters, but the nodes are usually deep. We'll figure out a resource map for you all. For now, I think we've kept you all long enough. We've got to get back to our own duties." The other rangers started to disperse, each taking leave the way they found the family. "I truly hope none of you die here. You seem close knit. Good luck." He mounted his Pteranodon and took to the sky.

Ranger Carly petted her bird before looking around. She was the last one left. "Is there a girl named Peyton here?"

"What do you need with my daughter?" Clyde asked.

"Nothing bad," Carly spoke up, "it's just that Ranger N, the Ranger who left with the wolves, wanted me to give her his wolf. The one she named Codi?"

"Is that thing safe?"

"Codi's a good girl," Peyton defended the Direwolf.

"The direwolf has taken a liking to her," Carly said walking over, "It'll keep her safe. Think of Codi as an overgrown loyal guard dog. Direwolves thrive in packs. They're expert trackers and hunters as well. My recommendation is getting a pack for her sooner or later. You'd probably be better off getting Hyenadon's since there's more of them down south. Direwolves are found in the Northern parts of the island. Peyton? Call your new tame."

Peyton didn't miss a beat. "Codi!" She yelled calling the direwolf. The Direwolf was laying down, likely sleeping the entire time after the rest of the pack ran off. The moment Peyton called her name, the direwolf perked up, raising her head and ears, listening. "Come here girl!" The direwolf whined a bit getting up, all excited and bounding towards the crowd of people looking for her new master. The wolf was as big as a horse. Everyone moved out her way as she made her way to her new owner. Some people were scared of the oversized wolf. But the wolf never made any hostile attempts at any of them. Codi just searched for her owner, like an oversized Labrador.

"I'll have our archivist try and get copies of a lot that we've learned about the Mega-Ark as soon as possible," Carly spoke getting on her bird. "Most of it is just going to be about the flora and fauna found here in this region, as well as some recipes. We'll do our best to give out maps of the island region and the surrounding seas. I need to return to base. I'll see you all later."

With that, all of the rangers had left them to their own devices. At first it was silent. With the sun setting, there was a red hue in the immediate area coming from the Red Obelisk. Little whispers of conversations started to arise from the others. Eric took the time to reflect, holding his wife and watching everyone around him. It was going to be tough. No one knew exactly what was going to happen, how they'd make it, or if they'd survive. The most crucial thing was to pull together in his opinion. And they would. They just had to be organized.

…

_Nate Warren –_

He was right back where he started, the Hadrosaur plateau. He sighed. The Hadrosaurs had yet to be disturbed. It wasn't until he had gotten back to the freshwater pond did he see something. There were two people there. They were both skinny, but built like a they were in the military. He recognized them. It was two younger guys named Marcus Brumfield and Erik Bankert. Neither one was related to him. Marcus was African American and the other was Caucasian. If he had been friends with someone. This was them.

The two of them looked at him. "Nate?" Erik said, "How the fuck did you get here?"

"Yup," Nate replied, "I think my entire family's here. You guys?"

"Pulled into the sky by something before everything went white," Marcus said, "I was working on an AC-130 engine."

"I was watching TV," Erik said, "It flash-banged me. Here I am."

"Where'd y'all wash up at?" Nate asked, "I washed up right over there."

"Along the Northern shores," Marcus spoke up as Nate sat his backpack down, "We were looking for a beam of white light, but it disappeared before we could get there. We figured it could get us home the same way we got here."

Nate immediately knew that it wasn't what they thought it was. "Sorry to tell you this," Nate replied, "but it isn't a way to get home. They were supply drops. I don't know where they come from, but they have gear in them." He gestured to his clothes and backpack. "All of this? It came from two of them."

"What the fuck?" Erik questioned clearly confused, "How's that possible?"

"Well," Marcus said, "To be fair Eric, there are dinosaurs running around. Remember those fast running one's that ran out the forest? Those things were huge."

"I'm still freaked out about the size of those wolves we saw more west," Erik replied, "Those things were massive!"

"Wolves?" Nate said getting giddy immediately. Wolves were one of Nate's favorite animals.

"Yeah," Erik replied, "They're the size of a frickin' horse man. Huge."

"He's not exaggerating either," Marcus said then sighed. There was a long silence afterwards before anyone spoke again. Incidentally, it was Marcus. "Well. So, what do we do now?"

"Try not to die would be a good start," Erik spoke up.

"I need to find the rest of my family," Nate spoke, "But from the size of this island on the map, I'd say I'm going to need more supplies and figure out a way to get across the island easier."

"There might be a way," Erik replied said handing Nate a stick with skewered meat on it, "That's Dodo by the way. Mark think's I'm crazy, but I saw someone riding one of those flying reptiles. It looked like a bird."

"Pteranodon?" Nate asked.

"You're the dino expert," He said shrugged, "It looked like whoever was riding it was searching for something, because it kept stopping in mid-air. There was some kind of gleam, probably a scope of some kind."

"So these dinosaurs are able to be domesticated then?" Nate questioned.

"Look's like it."

There were so many stray thoughts in Nate's mind when it came to domesticating dinosaurs. From riding a raptor, a t-rex, or even one of those birds, to breeding them and making a dino army. He sighed. It wasn't practical, but he'd want to. He wanted a wolf. That's what he wanted. He pushed these thoughts aside. Survival was important right now, nothing else. If he couldn't survive, he couldn't get to his family.

"I think we need to set up a base camp somewhere," Mark spoke, "Somewhere not easily accessible to the more bigger things."

"A single big shelter to begin with," Erik said, "We're going to have to build barriers somehow to keep the dinosaurs out." In Nate's mind, all he could think about were those Allosaurs smashing through weak barricades.

"I can get to work on barricades," Nate spoke, "Such as spike walls and wooden walls. It might take forever but I'm sure we can put something together."

"So where are we gonna build a shelter then?" Mark asked. "Right here next to this pond?"

"I've got a better place," Nate spoke, "To begin with at least. There's a place surrounded by cliffs and three entrances to the canyon. There is relatively flat terrain and a pond in the middle. There may be fish. It's not much, but it'll be easier to barricade than an open plateau like this one. The problem is, last time I was in there, which was earlier today, there were carnivores there. Allosaurus' to be exact. They're pretty big and fast."

"How big?" Erik asked.

"Two elephants, one in front of the other maybe?"

"Damn."

"Yeah," Nate said, "They ain't no joke."

"Well I guess we could get started," Mark spoke up, "It looks like Nate is ahead of the game though. He's all decked out in gear."

"I got these things from supply drops," Nate replied, "or Beacons as they are called. Other than this stuff here." He referred to his tools he crafted and primitive utility belt. "I made these shortly after washing up here. They're crude tools, but they work."

"Any chance you could show us how to make those?" Erik asked.

"Yeah," Nate replied nodding, "We just got to get some materials first. Luckily, there's plenty of basic resources around. We're going to need some wood, stones, thatch material and flint. I can take care of getting stuff for the tools but y'all can get the thatch and us some food. Thatch material can be collected from plants or tree leaves." It wasn't long before the three of them got started gathering materials. Nate ended up chopping up some flint from the boulders nearby and gathering stone. The entire process went three times as fast than it did when Nate was doing it alone. Mark would gather some of the fallen thatch material and Erik would look for more food. Making the tools didn't take long this time at all, considering he already had his own set of tools. He'd definitely have to show them how to make them. Once all the tools were made, he went ahead and started crafting some spears. It was better for Erik and Marcus to have some sort of defense.

Once everything was taken care of, the three decided to make the trek through the jungle, led by Nate. The jungle was quiet, the natural path empty as it could be except for a stray prehistoric monkey or two. When they arrived in the canyon, the Allosaurs were all gone. All that was left were the mostly eaten carcasses of the Gallimimus'. The trio were cautious. Overly cautious. They didn't want to run into the predators. There was a screech or two from above. They saw four to five feathered majestic looking but massive birds flying down. They were so big they snatched the carcasses up and flew off with them. They were the biggest birds Nate had ever seen. They stood taller than an ostrich, had vulturine tendencies as well as head, and were definitely prehistoric birds of prey.

They all carried their meals away high up in the sky with the exception of one. It had an injured leg. The gash was sort of large, and Nate didn't know how the bird could use it well. It limped over to the carcass before devouring it. The feathers of the bird ruffled and a green hue began to wash over the bird. The cut on the bird gash on the bird's leg began to heal, before disappearing completely. The bird took the rest of its quarry to the skies.

"That's a big ass pigeon," Mark said.

"I think it was an Argentavis?" Nate replied, "Basically a prehistoric carrion eater."

"As long as it doesn't try to eat us," Mark said, "I like it."

Erik was the first to walk out so haphazardly now that there were no signs of dinosaurs. "Nice place," He said looking around. There's a water source, trees, if anything falls off those cliffs, it's dead."

"In theory," Mark deadpanned, "That's how we hope it'll go."

"So what should we concentrate on building first?" Erik asked, "Walls or shelter?"

"Probably walls," Nate replied, "We can probably put some wooden spikes up. Those would be better barricades, than just a straight wall. We already know we're going to have to build a gate as well."

"That's going to be a bitch," Mark said, "Anyone other than Nate know carpentry?"

"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Erik chimed in, "And I do. I'm also an amateur architect."

"Since when?"

"Since forever," Erik said, "That was the plan after a few years in the military. Go to school to be an architect."

"Learn something new every day," Mark replied.

The three got to work shortly after that. The first thing they did was set up a campfire at the base of a cliff near the pond. Despite what they had said earlier, Nate found himself building a simple lean-to shelter against the cliff before helping the other two build spike wall barricades at the entrances. It took them until nightfall to finish just one entrance. The spikes were close enough together so that anything bigger than a human would be impaled by the spikes. Luckily, that was probably the majority of the carnivores around. Hopefully. The entrance they had covered, was the one that the Allo's had chased the Gallimimus through first, mostly on the instinct that Nate had seeing several Allo prints leaving that way over the ones they had made when they were hunting. The trio's dinner tonight ended up being speared fish out the pond and some berries. For now, they were surviving. Tomorrow though, that remained to be seen….

…

_Unknown –_

Sailing in the deep seas Southeast of the island region was a lone Schooner. It was a fishing vessel quietly sailing towards a distant desert region, rumored to be nothing but a sea of sand with mountains and ravines directly in the center, known as the Scorched Earth Region. Everything was going smoothly. The captain of the ship was at the helm steering the ship with one hand and looking at the compass in the other. His destination was the Scorched Earth Region.

"Cap'n," One of his crew said, "Are yah sure that where we're goin', there be treasure?"

"Aye," The captain replied, "Pass the dune seas, in the center of the land are riches untold. Buried by the one of the Pirate Lords."

"But Cap'n," Another man asked who was slightly younger, "I heard that the dune sea of the Scorched Earth Region was swarming with land sharks and giant worms."

"An old wives tale me boy," The captain replied, "There ain't nuttin out there but sand. Stories of the deranged, that be. Heat got to 'em. Stick with ol' Cutlen and you'll never go astray." He pounded his fist over his heart with the last sentence. "So who's with me?"

"AYE!" The entire crew bellowed in agreement.

With the morale of the crew up, the ship sailed diligently, that was until they heard a familiar sound. It sounded like a deep bellow, with clicking. Most folk would believe it to be a whale, but no. The Captain and his crew were all aware of the sound. It was the sound of the rare gigantic fish that despised any seafaring vessel. Sure enough, there it was. From the rear of the ship was a large dorsal fin. "Alright lads!" The Captain said, "You know the drill, man the ballista's! Sails thirty degrees Starboard to sail with the wind. We got a Leedsichthys on the aft." The crew scrambled to their stations before the giant fish, that was easily bigger than the ship, sped towards them. The ship sailed with the wind, the Leedsichthys slowly gaining on the boat. When it was in range, the ballista gunner fired a single bolt into the giant fish's head. The fish recoiled before continuing its rampage. Another of the crew helped load the next ballista bolt before backing up. The second bolt struck true again, this time, causing the giant fish to slow down until it came to a stop.

"The Leed is down Cap'n!"

"Well done lads!" The Captain congratulated, "Let's-" And explosion of water shot up around the Leedsichthysis. Crocodilian jaws, snapped around the body of the Leedsichthysis from straight under it. The jaws sunk with its prey into the water with a jerk. The only thing left of the giant fish, was its head. Whatever the creature it was, caused a wake that rocked the Schooner. It dwarfed any whale that the captain had ever seen. In fact, it probably preyed on the whales as well. "Full sails! Full sails!" What turned into victory for the seafarers, turned into a horror story.

"Cap'n!" A crew member shouted in fear, "What in seven hells is that thing!?"

"I don't know lads!" The Captain shouted back, "But I'm not keen to find out." The sailors kept full sails, hoping to put as much distance between them and whatever monstrosity that could bite a Leedsichthysis in half. If it had been the ship, none of them would have made it. One thing was for sure, if they made it back to civilization alive, then that'd be a story to tell….


End file.
